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ByJoshDubow TheAssociatedPress ALAMEDA First-roundpickKarl Joseph will have to wait a little bit longer until he can show the Oak- land Raiders what he's capable of doing on the field. As the Raiders held their first rookie minicamp practice on Fri- day, Joseph was merely a specta- tor as he continues to rehabilitate the torn ACL in his right knee that cut his final season at West Vir- ginia short and raised questions about how high he'd be drafted. The Raiders had no concerns as they believe Joseph will be com- pletely healthy for his rookie sea- son. Joseph said his rehab is on schedule and he plans to be ready to get back on the field when training camp starts in late July. "It's tough, just not being able to go out there and practice and learn the stuff, but I am still learning in meeting rooms," Jo- seph said. "Right now, I am just focusing on rehabbing and get- ting healthy." The Raiders have big plans for Joseph, who is being counted on to replace the retired Charles Woodson. Joseph had five inter- ceptions in four games before get- ting hurt last season and is known NFL Joseph not ready for Raiders' 1st practice Top dra pick still dealing with knee injury recovery JEFFCHIU—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The Oakland Raiders' Karl Joseph missed the team's rookie minicamp practice in Alameda on Friday. ATHLETICS6,RAYS3 Up next: Oakland Athletics at Tampa Bay Rays, 3:10p.m. Satur- day, TV on CSN-CA. THESCORE By Dick Scanlon The Associated Press ST.PETERSBURG,FLA. Danny Va- lencia hit his first two home runs of the season in his first game back from a hamstring injury and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Fri- day night to end a five-game skid. Valencia sat for two games this week after reinjuring the left hamstring that had landed him on the disabled list. He had two of Oakland's four homers in this one. Rich Hill (5-3) pitched six in- nings to win for the fourth time in his last five starts. A diving catch by Valencia at third base helped Ryan Madson work out of a bases- loaded jam in the ninth to earn his ninth save. Khris Davis and Valencia hom- ered off Rays starter Jake Odor- izzi (0-2) in the first inning, driv- ing in all four runs in a 42-pitch inning. Davis' three-run homer BASEBALL MIKE CARLSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Rich Hill threw six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Valencia hits 2 homers in A's win over Rays to snap skid CONFERENCE FINALS Game 1: Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors, 6p.m. Monday, TV on TNT. TUNEIN By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE The NHL's Western Conference finals match-up be- tween the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues is fascinating for many reasons, but there's one reason that overrides all the oth- ers — it's a classic showdown of unmatched postseason misery. The Sharks and Blues can tell more historical tales of playoff woe than any other two teams in the league trying to chase a berth in a Stanley Cup final. The Sharks are in the midst of their 18th crack at it without break- ing down the door. But that's a mild headache compared to the Blues' long-standing migraine of abject disappointment. Imagine making the playoffs 25 consecutive years and never reaching a Cup final. The Blues somehow did that, from 1979 to 2004. Imagine being in the league since 1967, only missing the playoffs in eight of 47 sea- sons, yet never winning a Stan- ley Cup final game. The Blues are so aptly named, because most years they've been good enough to make the postseason, but perennially disappoint and sometimes disgust their fans once they get there. Sharks fans certainly know that sour-stomach feeling. Of the six active NHL teams never to make the Stanley Cup round, they are by far the most success- NHL PLAYOFFS Sharks-Blues series a tale of the blues Stanley Cup title pursuit has ended in misery for both teams during their mutual histories BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones, right, blocks a shot from the Nashville Predators' Colton Sissons (10) during Game 7on Thursday in San Jose. At le is the Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic. CONFERENCE FINALS Game 1: San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues, 5p.m. Sunday, TV on NBCSN. TUNEIN By Janie McCauley The Associated Press OAKLAND Stephen Curry sur- prised coach Steve Kerr with how quickly he found his groove the past two games after return- ing from a right knee injury, even with a few more misses than usual for the MVP. Now, Curry and the Golden State Warriors push into the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City counting on their superstar to be fully healthy for an entire round for the first time this postseason. There's no way he won't be making as big an impact as he possibly can as the defending champions move closer to their goal of a repeat title. "Hopefully, it will be close to 100 percent by Monday night," Curry said after Friday's practice. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson, who carried the load on both ends of the floor during Curry's absence for much of the first two rounds, is counting on it. So far, Curry's return has been seamless — even more so than Kerr had foreseen while Curry was out. The Coach of the Year figured there might be a transi- tion period as everybody got com- fortable again. "It has (been smooth)," Thomp- son said. "Anyone can see that. He hasn't missed a beat." Draymond Green practiced after suffering a left ankle in- jury during Wednesday's series clincher against Portland, while 7-foot center Andrew Bogut sat out Friday's workout with a strained muscle in his right leg. The hope is that Bogut will re- turn to practice Saturday and be ready for Monday night's Game 1 against the Thunder at Ora- cle Arena. An MRI wasn't in the plans for Bogut's injury. After a whirlwind week that in- cluded becoming the NBA's first unanimous MVP on Tuesday, Curry looked forward to taking some much-needed downtime be- tween now and the next round to rest his body and mind. "You go from missing three weeks, two and a half weeks to playing significant minutes in 48 hours, especially with what the day in between was like, it kind of shocks your body so you've got to take advantage of these three days we have off to get refreshed and rejuvenated mentally and physically, and get ready to play." Curry came off the bench and overcame a slow start to score 40 points in a 132-125 Game 4 over- time win at Portland on Monday night, including an NBA-record 17 in overtime. He then started and scored 29 in Wednesday's clincher against the Trail Blazers. "It went really well, obvi- ously. He was much better than we could have ever hoped or ex- pected given the length of time NBA PLAYOFFS Warriorsgearingupto faceThunderinWest Golden State should have Curry close to 100 percent for conference finals PHOTOS BY BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry shoots during practice on Friday in Oakland. The Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1of the Western Conference finals on Monday. Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr speaks to reporters during practice on Friday in Oakland. Kerr said Stephen Curry's return from a knee injury "was much better than we could have ever hoped or expected given the length of time that he was out." WARRIORS PAGE 2 SHARKS PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, May 14, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1