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2B Daily News – Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Raiders lean on Leinart's knowledge of offense ALAMEDA (AP) — Matt Leinart has gone from being Car- son Palmer's protege at Southern California to his teacher with the Oakland Raiders a decade later. Leinart signed with Oakland earlier this month to back up his former college teammate and also pass on tips based on his intricate knowledge of the Raiders' new offense. Leinart spent the past two seasons in Houston, where new Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp was his quarterbacks coach. "It made just perfect sense for me to come here and help out these guys with this offense because this is a brand new offense for almost everyone on the offensive side," Leinart said. "It was a no-brainer, a great opportunity for me to come in here and help in any way I can." Leinart said he learned a lot about this offense playing behind Matt Schaub the past two seasons and is ready to pass on those tips. For example on Monday, at the for two years. In essence, I'm here for Carson to help him with reads, to let him know that certain things are very good, just to stay on it, because when you're taught a new offense, there's things you're not used to. You're used to doing it a certain way. Sometimes the reads are a little different." Palmer is not known as a mobile quarterback, raising questions about how well he would fit into an offense that relies heavily on bootlegs and rollouts. Leinart said he believes the transition will be easy, noting it has some similarities to what they both ran when they won their Heis- man Trophies at USC. "Carson's been around a long time. He's a smart quarterback, he's had a lot of success. He'll be fine," Leinart said. "But that's definitely the cool thing, we're so comfort- able with each other, we've been teammates, we've been friends for the past 10 years, so that's the rela- tionship we have and I'm here to help him as much as possible." Leinart spent two years behind team's first OTA, Leinart said he told Palmer to stay with a certain route a little bit longer because it will pay off for him. "The great thing is, I've repped a lot of these plays over the course of the past two seasons whereas he's running a lot of these plays for the first time or second time," Leinart said. "I've watched Matt Schaub who operates this offense as good as anybody, I've picked his brain rookie with the Cardinals but only seven games in the past five sea- sons. He broke his collarbone after five starts in 2007 and then was beaten out for the starting job the next season by Kurt Warner. He spent the past two seasons with the Texans as Schaub's backup. Leinart got a chance to start last season with the Texans after Schaub broke his right foot. But Leinart got hurt in the first half against Jacksonville on Nov. 27 after completing 10 of 13 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, end- ing his season. Leinart was cut by the Texans in March and signed with the Raiders on May 1. "I knew that I wasn't going to go into a place to be named the starter," he said. "I understand that, but my mentality is I'm still confi- dent that I can start, I'm still confi- dent that I can play, and the good thing is that I know this offense well, so I feel comfortable when I get my chance or I get the reps, that I can execute it." Palmer at USC, including when Palmer won the Heisman Trophy in 2002. Leinart took over the Tro- jans the next season and won two national championships and the Heisman Trophy in 2004. He was drafted 10th overall by Arizona in 2006 despite being told by late Raiders owner Al Davis that Oakland wouldn't let him get past seven. The Raiders took safe- ty Michael Huff instead and Leinart went to the Cardinals. Leinart started 11 games as a Leinart has completed 57.6 per- cent of his passes in his career with 15 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and a 71.6 passer rating. Notes: The Raiders signed seven players who came to this past weekend's rookie minicamp on a tryout: K/P Eddy Carmona, DE Wayne Dorsey, TE Kyle Efaw, T Kevin Haslam, CB LeQuan Lewis, FB TreShawn Robinson and WR Travionte Session. ... Oakland also waived QB Rhett Bomar and TE Andre Hardy. Thousands attend Manchester City victory parade MANCHESTER, England (AP) — In a city more accustomed to a sea of red during title celebrations, blue confetti fell over the streets. win, was losing 2-1 to Queens Park Rangers. It all changed in two, breathtaking minutes in stoppage time at City. Edin Dzeko headed Manchester City paraded the Premier League trophy before about 100,000 fans Monday in celebration of its first English title in 44 years. Blue and white ticker-tape and streamers rained down on the team bus as City players displayed the trophy they had wrested from crosstown rival Manchester United a day earlier. Fans climbed lamp- posts and jostled for position on roof tops and walls. Fathers held children on their shoul- ders to catch a glimpse of the City players aboard an open-top bus. ''Days like this are why we came to City and it's just fantastic,'' said City midfielder Gareth Barry, one of many high-priced play- ers who joined the team in the last few years after it was bought up by wealthy Abu Dhabi owners. ''Our fans have always been amazing and they're showing it here today. I've got memories I'll treasure for the rest of my career.'' was in full force in Manchester's main square, United's deject- ed players were arriving at an unusually solemn end-of-season dinner — a clear picture of just how much the soccer landscape has changed in this northwest city. United, though, came oh so close to being the team celebrating. When the game clock hit 90 minutes at City on Sunday, it appeared United would be keep- ing the Premier League trophy. While the revelry bought the club three years ago. in City's equalizer in the second additional minute and then, after United's game had just finished at Sunderland and the podium was being prepared for the trophy presentation, Sergio Aguero pro- duced a title-winning goal for City. ''One moment you think you've won the title,'' United striker Wayne Rooney said Monday night at the club's awards' dinner. ''It's heartbreaking for all.'' Meanwhile, a more frugal approach exists at Old Trafford, where United's moneymaking might is not always reflected in the cash spent strengthening the squad. United was leading 1-0 at Sunderland and City, which had only to match United's result to NHL PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7) Monday's result N.Y. Rangers 3, New Jersey 0 N.Y. Rangers leads series 1-0 Today's game Los Angeles at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Los Angeles leads series 1-0 Not for fans in the blue half of Manchester, who have spent most of their lives in the shadow of their more illustrious neighbor, but now final- ly have reason to hope for their own dynasty. ''It's been an emo- tional roller coaster,'' City fan John Wilkinson said. ''My son was upset yesterday because he thought we lost and he would have go into school and face the United fans. ''I have followed City since the early 90s so when it went 2-1 I was really down and thought we had blown it. I can't put into words what this means.'' And there's no rea- son to think City's suc- cesses will end here. After enduring rele- gations and financial chaos while United won 12 of the last 19 English titles, the ''noisy neigh- bors'' derided by Fergu- son have used their newfound wealth to overtake United as the country's top club. An unprecedented $1 billion has been spent by Abu Dhabi's Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan overhauling the City squad since he NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (Best-of-7) Monday's results Philadelphia 82, Boston 81 Series tied 1-1 L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, late Series tied 0-0 Today's games Indiana at Miami, 4 p.m. Miami leads series 1-0 L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. Series tied 0-0 That's unlikely to change even after this setback, since Ferguson insists he doesn't need to spend millions to improve the team. ''We know City will spend fortunes, stupid money and pay silly salaries and all that,'' Ferguson said. ''We will look at we can do and attract players here for the right reasons.'' City still has a long way to go to match the overall success of Unit- ed, which missed out on a 20th English title on Sunday while City col- lected its third. ''The history of our club stands us aside,'' Ferguson said. ''We don't need to worry about that. I think we have a rich history, bet- ter than anyone and it'll take them a century to get to our level of histo- ry.'' ons League title next season as well. ''I hope City will become a great club in the world,'' midfielder Yaya Toure said. When it was his turn to celebrate on Monday, he couldn't help but taunt Ferguson a bit extra, having left Unit- ed in 2009 after strug- gling to find enough playing time. Tevez was caught on camera on City's open- top bus raising a placard that said, ''R.I.P. Fer- gie,'' a clear message that he thinks the suc- cessful era of his former manager is now over. However, the 70- It remains to be seen whether Carlos Tevez will be part of the team's future, however, as the Argentina striker spent much of the sea- son away from the team after falling out with manager Roberto Mancini. He was even- tually welcomed back and helped the club erase an eight-point deficit to United in the standings over the final months. But the City trophy cabinet could start fill- ing quickly in the com- ing years, the club like- ly to target the Champi- MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA Salt Lake 8 3 2 26 19 12 QUAKES 72 2 23 22 12 Seattle 7 2 1 22 13 4 Vancouver 5 3 2 17 10 11 Colorado 5 5 0 15 15 12 FC Dallas 3 6 3 12 11 18 Galaxy 3 5 2 11 12 15 Chivas USA 3 6 1 10 6 12 Portland 2 5 2 8 9 13 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 7 3 1 22 23 16 Kansas City 7 3 0 21 13 7 D.C. 5 4 3 18 20 16 Chicago 4 2 3 15 11 10 N. England 4 6 0 12 12 13 Montreal 3 5 3 12 12 16 Houston 3 3 2 11 8 9 Columbus 3 4 2 11 8 11 Philadelphia 2 6 1 7 7 12 Toronto FC 0 8 0 0 6 18 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. —————————————————— Today's game Portland at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday's game Colorado at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Saturday's games Columbus at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Seattle FC at Vancouver, 2 p.m. Houston at New England, 4:30 p.m. New York at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Toronto FC at D.C. United, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at Colorado, 6 p.m. Los Angeles at Chivas USA, 7:30 p.m. Sunday's game Chicago at Portland, 4 p.m. year-old Ferguson said he has no plans to sur- render to City. ''They know I'm not going away,'' he said. NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Greg Biffle 2. Matt Kenseth 411 409 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 397 4. Denny Hamlin 5. Jimmie Johnson 6. Martin Truex Jr. 7. Tony Stewart 8. Kevin Harvick 9. Kyle Busch 10. Carl Edwards 11. Clint Bowyer 394 372 372 369 361 349 337 335 12. Brad Keselowski 328 13. Paul Menard 14. Ryan Newman 307 15. Joey Logano 16. Kasey Kahne 17. Jeff Burton 308 293 283 275 18. Marcos Ambrose 274 19. Juan Pablo Montoya 272 20. Jamie McMurray 263 21. Aric Almirola 22. A J Allmendinger 253 23. Mark Martin 24. Jeff Gordon 25. Kurt Busch 26. Regan Smith 27. Bobby Labonte 28. Casey Mears 29. David Ragan 30. David Gilliland 262 242 241 238 238 226 209 188 184 31. David Reutimann 162 32. Dave Blaney 33. Landon Cassill 34. Travis Kvapil 35. David Stremme 36. J.J.Yeley 37. Brian Vickers 157 154 148 86 80 66 38. Michael McDowell 57 39. Brendan Gaughan 50 40. Ken Schrader 41. Terry Labonte 42. Tony Raines 43. Josh Wise 44. Michael Waltrip 45. Hermie Sadler 46. Scott Riggs 47. Stephen Leicht 48. Bill Elliott 49. Robby Gordon 50. Scott Speed 47 42 41 40 26 13 13 9 7 6 4 Sagan also crashed with about 4 1-2 miles left in the opening stage, lost more than 20 seconds to the field but returned to the front with teammates' help. Leigh Howard of the Orica-GreenEDGE team was third in the stage that took the starting field of 128 along the California coastline. Sagan was among 10 cyclists who crashed 73 miles into stage 2. All of the fallen riders returned to the field. Defending champion Chris Horner of Bend, Ore., finished safely in the main field for the second straight day. ''I knew the last corner was close to the finish so I decided to take the turn from the first position,'' said Sagan. ''And I won the stage. I'm now thinking about winning another, and maybe when we start the harder climbs we will work for (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek teammate) Vincenzo Nibali.'' The eight-day event continues Tuesday with 115.3- mile stage 3 road race from San Jose to Livermore. The route will include the race's first substantial climb, an ascent of Mt. Diablo about halfway through the stage. Golden State Warriors SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — City leaders in San Francisco are courting the Golden State Warriors, try- ing to woo the pro basketball team back to the City by the Bay within five years SF mayor seeks to woo would work with Warriors executives to bring the team to San Francisco in time for the National Basketball Association season in 2017. Mayor Ed Lee sent a letter on Friday saying the city The note signed by all 11 city supervisors and numerous business and labor leaders floats the possi- bility of building a waterfront arena. It was sent a few days after Lee met with new Warriors owner Peter Guber in Los Angeles. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan responded Monday by sending the team her own letter. Quan says Oakland is committed to keeping the Warriors in the East Bay. Irving set to be named NBA's top rookie There was never any doubt Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving would be named the NBA's Rookie of the Year. The only suspense was when — and by how much. CLEVELAND (AP) — expected for months, will be presented with the award on Tuesday, capping a season which he began as the No. 1 overall pick and ended it as the clear-cut top rookie. The Cavs sent out a release Monday saying they will make a "major announcement" along with the league on Tuesday morning at Cleveland Clinic Courts, the team's training facility in Independence. The team did not specify what will be announced, but The Associated Press was one of several media outlets to report on Sunday that Irv- ing will win the award. The 20-year-old aver- Irving, as has been MLB West Division Texas A's Seattle Angels East Division Baltimore American League WL Pct GB 23 13 .639 — 18 17 .514 4.5 16 21 .432 7.5 15 20 .429 7.5 WL Pct GB 22 14 .611 — Tampa Bay 22 14 .611 — New York Toronto Boston Central Division Cleveland 19 16 .543 — Detroit Chicago WL Pct GB 17 18 .486 2 17 19 .472 2.5 Kansas City 14 20 .412 4.5 Minnesota 10 25 .286 9 —————————————————— Monday's results Oakland at Los Angeles, late Boston 6, Seattle 1 Chicago 7, Detroit 5 Cleveland 5, Minnesota 4 Kansas City 3, Texas 1 New York 8, Baltimore 5 Tampa Bay 7, Toronto 1 Today's games Oakland (Colon 3-3) at Los Angeles (E.Santana 1-6), 4:05 p.m. Cleveland (D.Lowe 5-1) at Minnesota (Marquis 2-2), 10:10 a.m. Detroit (Scherzer 2-3) at Chicago (Peavy 4-1), 11:10 a.m. Seattle (Beavan 1-3) at Boston (Beckett 2-4), 1:05 p.m. New York (Sabathia 5-0) at Baltimore (W.Chen 3-0), 4:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (Price 5-2) at Toronto (H.Alvarez 3-2), 4:07 p.m. Kansas City (Mazzaro 0-0) at Texas (Lewis 3-2), 5:05 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. New York at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Boston at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Baltimore at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. Chicago at Los Angeles, 7:05 p.m. 20 15 .571 1.5 19 17 .528 3 16 19 .457 5.5 aged 18.5 points to lead all rookies — and the Cavs — in scoring. He also averaged 5.4 assists, finished first among rookies in field-goal percentage and dominated several games in the fourth quarter, rallying Cleveland to wins. Irving has a chance to become the fourth unani- mous winner in voting by a nationwide media panel. Los Angeles Clippers for- ward Blake Griffin (2011), San Antonio center David Robinson (1990) and Hous- ton center Ralph Sampson (1984) are the only players to receive every first-place vote. Chris Paul missed by one vote in 2006. Cleveland player to win the award, joining LeBron James in 2004. Irving is the second MLB West Division Dodgers GIANTS Arizona Colorado Padres East Division Washington 22 13 .629 — Atlanta New York Miami St. Louis 20 15 .571 2 18 17 .514 4 Philadelphia 17 19 .472 5.5 Central Division WL Pct GB 20 15 .571 — Cincinnati 18 16 .529 1.5 Pittsburgh 17 18 .486 3 Chicago Houston 15 20 .429 5 15 20 .429 5 Milwaukee 15 20 .429 5 —————————————————— Monday's results Colorado at San Francisco, late Chicago 6, St. Louis 4 Cincinnati 3, Atlanta 1 New York 3, Milwaukee 1 Philadelphia 5, Houston 1 Pittsburgh 3, Miami 2 Washington 8, San Diego 5 Arizona at Los Angeles, late Today's games Colorado (Guthrie 2-1) at San Fran. (Lincecum 2-3), 7:15 p.m. Houston (Lyles 0-0) at Philadelphia (Cl.Lee 0-1), 10:05 a.m. San Diego (Bass 1-4) at Washington (Strasburg 3-0), 10:05 a.m. Chicago (Maholm 4-2) at St. Louis (Lohse 5-1), 10:45 a.m. Cincinnati (Cueto 4-0) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 1-1), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (Greinke 3-1) at New York (Gee 2-2), 4:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Correia 1-3) at Miami (Jo.Johnson 0-3), 4:10 p.m. Arizona (Miley 3-1) at Los Angeles (Billingsley 2-2), 7:10 p.m. Wednesday's games St. Louis at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m. Los Angeles at San Diego, 3:35 p.m. Pittsburgh at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Cincinnati at New York, 4:10 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago, 5:05 p.m. Arizona at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. WL Pct GB 22 14 .611 .5 National League WL Pct GB 23 11 .676 — 17 17 .500 6 15 20 .429 8.5 13 20 .394 9.5 12 24 .333 12 of Tour of California APTOS (AP) — Peter Sagan of Slovakia won his second straight stage with a powerful and unchallenged sprint and retained the overall lead Monday in stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California. The Liquigas-Cannondale rider was timed in the 117.1-mile road race from San Francisco in 5 hours and 2 minutes. He now leads the eight-day event by 8 sec- onds over Heinrich Haussler of Australia, a former Tour de France stage winner who was second for the second straight day, a half-dozen bike lengths behind.. ''Today was very hard, the climbs went very fast,'' said Sagan, the former mountain junior world titlist who now also has five career wins in the seven-year-old race. Sagan wins 2nd stage