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2B Daily News – Thursday, June 14, 2012 work with one of the NFL's most fearsome units, Vic Fangio sees no limit to what the San Francisco 49ers can achieve on defense this season. SANTA CLARA (AP) — With a full offseason to That unit accomplished plenty last year while push- ing the Niners to their first winning season in eight years. But with all 11 starters returning on the league's fourth-ranked defense, it looks to be even better in 2012. Fangio has guided several top-notch defenses during his 26 years coaching in the NFL, and San Francisco's defensive coordinator says this could be his best yet. ''I suppose you could say potentially we should be as good or better,'' Fangio said Wednesday, the mid- point of a three-day minicamp. ''We have good players and our guys enjoy playing with each other. They grew into playing with each other last year, playing off of each other. We would expect that to continue and take it to a higher level.'' After years of flirting with success, San Francisco's defense reached the top level last season in Fangio's first year with the team. And that came without the ben- efit of an offseason program for Fangio to implement a new system because of the NFL lockout. The 49ers prospered defensively anyway and were considered one of the league's elite units by the time OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder's victory over Miami in the opener of the NBA Finals drew the highest overnight rating ever for a Game 1 on ABC. The game drew an 11.8 rating, according to Nielsen, an increase of 10 percent from the 10.7 for the Heat's Game 1 victory over Dallas last year. The previous Game 1 record for CHARGES (Continued from page 1B) ter. USADA's letter, ''numerous riders, team personnel and others will testify'' they either saw Armstrong dope or heard him tell them he used EPO, blood trans- fusions, testosterone and cortisone from 1996 to 2005. Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999-2005. It also says blood col- lections obtained by cycling's governing body in 2009 and 2010 are ''fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use According to 49ers defense gets vote of confidence San Francisco had completed a surprise run to the NFC Championship game, where it lost in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. The Niners are envisioning great things ahead after an entire offseason program to absorb Fangio's 3-4 defensive scheme and the new wrinkles he's adding with the additional preparation time. ''It's really just enabled us to pick up where we left off last year, reinsert our defense to brush that off, and then polish off what we had inserted to even a finer level of execution,'' Fangio said. ''And we've added a thing or two here and there that gives us something new to work on.'' The 49ers don't envision many changes to a unit that last season led the NFL in rushing defense and take- aways, was second in points allowed and ranked in the top 10 in 10 defensive categories. bent Parys Haralson. Smith, San Francisco's first-round draft pick in 2011, made a huge impact on passing downs last sea- son, setting a franchise record for a rookie with a team- leading 14 sacks. Haralson is strong against the run and started every game last year with the base defense. But Smith got onto the field for almost 52 percent of San Francisco's defensive plays, and the 49ers intend for that number to increase significantly this season. ''When you have a player of his ability, you've got to do anything and everything you can to get him on the field more,'' Fangio said. ''I was very happy and pleased with what we got out of him last year. We expect him to become more of a full-time player this year.'' tually every defensive position with star linebacker Patrick Willis, tackle Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Dashon Goldson all selected for the Pro Bowl last season. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman joined Willis and Smith on the All-Pro first team. But one thing the team's working on this spring is the addition of second-year pro Aldon Smith to the starting lineup at outside linebacker in place of incum- San Francisco is rock-solid across the board at vir- NBA Finals draws highest game 1 rating ever PRYOR (Continued from page 1B) ABC was in 2004, an 11.6 for the open- er of Detroit's victory over the Lakers. ESPN says Wednesday the game generated a 44.3 rating in Oklahoma City, the highest for an NBA game in that market. Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets. and/or blood transfu- sions.'' Armstrong came out of retirement to race in the Tour de France those two years. USADA officials had said they would pursue possible charges against Armstrong even after federal criminal investi- gators had closed their case. USADA last week, Armstrong attorney Robert Luskin noted that USADA Chief Executive Officer Travis Tygart participated in witness interviews with federal investigator Jeff Novitzky during the criminal investigation. ''It is a vendetta, which has nothing to do In a letter to the with learning the truth and everything to do with settling a score and garnering publicity at Lance's expense,'' Luskin's letter said. Tygart did not imme- diately return a call seeking comment. Armstrong, who has been in France training for a triathlon, main- tained his innocence, saying in a statement: ''I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have compet- ed as an endurance ath- lete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one.'' last pick of a guy that made a legacy of foot- ball. He was just a well- known guy. Being the last pick, that's special, just in that sense, just how his name is always brought up. He's on HBO shows now after his death. It's just an honor.'' this year. But then, so does everybody else. The Niners won't sneak up on anybody this year after the way their defense emerged last season. ''People know who we are, considering what hap- pened last year,'' Aldon Smith said. ''But we still have the same mentality. We're hungry and we're working hard every day to get better. We've got a lot of guys who work hard and do their job. As long as we keep getting better, the sky's the limit for us.'' The 49ers have a lot of expectations for their defense was told,'' he said. ''I never heard of a rule — neither did any of our coaches know the rule — of getting under the center too fast and snap- ping the ball too fast. ''I was doing what I Pryor got to partici- pate in only three prac- tices and no exhibition games before his sus- pension kicked in, limit- ing him to team meet- ings and individual drills without coaches. Even when Pryor was activated, he mostly was a scout-team quarter- back as the third- stringer behind Palmer and Kyle Boller. ''He was in a tough spot last year,'' Palmer said. ''He kind of got robbed of an offseason. That's really when young guys develop is this time of year and without all the OTAs and minicamps and training camps, this is really his rookie year. He can't look at it that way and he and I have talked about that, but he just wants to get better every day and he wants to improve thing he can.'' every little Pryor got in once last season on Oct. 23 against Kansas City. Pryor said coach Hue Jackson had a package of plays for Pryor in Oakland's first game after starter Jason Campbell went down with a broken collar- bone. Pryor didn't get a whole lot of coaching as a rookie. With Jackson and offensive coordina- tor Al Saunders wrapped up in weekly game plans and getting Palmer up to speed after joining the team at midseason, Pryor didn't feel com- fortable asking too many questions. n't have a quarterbacks coach last season so Pryor is soaking up all he can get from his new position coach, John DeFilippo. The two talk constantly, with Pryor often calling DeFilippo at night after leaving the facility. The Raiders also did- The primary focus has been on improving Pryor's footwork after he spent most of his col- lege career playing out of the shotgun. ''His footwork has gotten much better in terms of understanding of when to take a five- step drop and when to take a seven-step drop,'' DeFilippo said. ''It's been good for him to have someone be so hands on with him on every play and stay on MLB East Division National League WL Pct GB Washington 38 23 .623 — Atlanta 34 29 .540 5 New York 34 29 .540 5 Miami 32 31 .508 7 The first — and only — one came on Oak- land's opening drive when Pryor was sent in for a third-and-1 quar- terback sneak. Pryor said he was told to call for a quick snap and go for the first down. Instead, he got called for a false start for not paus- ing a second under cen- ter before the snap. Boller threw an inter- ception that was returned for a touch- down on the following play and Pryor never saw the field again all season. NBA FINALS Game 1:Oklahoma City 105, Miami 94 Today: at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. Sunday: at Miami, 5 p.m. Tuesday: at Miami, 6 p.m. x-Thursday: at Miami, 6 p.m. x-June 24: at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. x-June 26: at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. x - if needed WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Chicago 6 1 .857 — Connecticut 6 1 .857 — Indiana 4 2 .6671 1/2 Atlanta 3 5 .3753 1/2 New York 3 6 .333 4 Washington 1 5 .1674 1/2 WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB Minnesota 9 0 1.000 — Los Angeles 6 1 .857 2 San Antonio 3 4 .429 5 Phoenix 2 5 .286 6 Seattle Tulsa Philadelphia30 34 .4699 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 34 27 .557 — Pittsburgh 32 29 .525 2 St. Louis 32 31 .508 3 Milwaukee 28 34 .4526 1/2 Houston 26 35 .426 8 Chicago 21 41 .33913 1/2 West Division Dodgers 40 23 .635 — Giants WL Pct GB 35 27 .5654 1/2 Arizona 30 32 .4849 1/2 Colorado 24 37 .393 15 San Diego 21 41 .33918 1/2 ------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results Washington 6, Toronto 2 Baltimore 7, Pittsburgh 1 Boston 10, Miami 2 Cincinnati 5, Cleveland 3 N.Y. Mets 9, Tampa Bay 1 N.Y.Yankees 3, Atlanta 2 Texas 1, Arizona 0 Detroit 8, Chicago Cubs 4 Kansas City 4, Milwaukee 3 Philadelphia 9, Minnesota 8 St. Louis 1, Chicago White Sox 0 Oakland 10, Colorado 8 L.A. Angels at L.A. Dodgers, late San Diego at Seattle, late Houston at San Francisco, late Today's Games Cleveland (Tomlin 3-3) at Cincinnati (Leake 2-5), 9:35 a.m. N.Y.Mets (J.Santana 3-3) at Tampa Bay (Hellickson 4-2), 10:10 a.m.. Detroit (Verlander 5-4) at Chicago Cubs (T.Wood 0-2), 11:20 a.m. Oakland (J.Parker 2-3) at Colorado (White 2-4), 12:10 p.m. Houston (W.Rodriguez 5-4) at San Fran- cisco (Zito 5-3), 12:45 p.m. Pittsburgh (Bedard 4-6) at Baltimore (Tom.Hunter 2-3), 4:05 p.m. Arizona (D.Hudson 2-1) at Texas (Feld- man 0-5), 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee (Marcum 5-3) at Kansas City (Hochevar 3-7), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Blanton 5-6) at Minnesota (Diamond 5-1), 5:10 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Floyd 4-6) at St. Louis (Westbrook 4-6), 5:15 p.m. San Diego (Volquez 2-6) at Seattle (Er.Ramirez 0-0), 7:10 p.m. Friday's Games 1 6 .143 7 0 8 .0008 1/2 -------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday's results Chicago 74, Seattle 58 Los Angeles 87, Connecticut 81 Friday's Games New York at Connecticut, 4 p.m. Indiana at Washington, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Seattle at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Boston at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Colorado at Detroit, 4:04 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Washington, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. Cincinnati at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Miami at Tampa Bay, 4:10 p.m. Baltimore at Atlanta, 4:35 p.m. Houston at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Kansas City at St. Louis, 5:15 p.m. Arizona at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. San Diego at Oakland, 7:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. San Francisco at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. him in a good way. He can take tough coaching. You can get on him. He doesn't go into the tank. He's been great.'' The on-field results have been somewhat inconsistent during open practices so far this off- season. Pryor sometimes will show off his big arm and make throws into tight windows that are necessary to succeed in the NFL. Other times his tim- ing is off or his throws are off-target, all part of the learning process for a young quarterback. Pryor said the toughest part for him is getting limited time in practice as a backup. He said he's looking to improve ''1 percent'' each day and he has plans after this week's minicamp to get togeth- er with former Raiders star Rich Gannon to work on some details. ''I'm working hard every day,'' he said. ''Sometimes it's not the best days. I'm still learning a new offense here. Especially me, I'm not taking a lot of reps. When I'm just taking certain reps it's just not crisp right now. After I get a couple of reps I should be fine. MLB East Division American League WL Pct GB New York 37 25 .597 — Baltimore 36 26 .581 1 Tampa Bay 35 27 .565 2 Boston 31 32 .4926 1/2 Toronto 31 32 .4926 1/2 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 34 28 .548 — Cleveland 32 29 .5251 1/2 Detroit 29 33 .468 5 Kansas City26 34 .433 7 Minnesota 25 36 .4108 1/2 West Division Texas WL Pct GB 37 26 .587 — Angels 33 30 .524 4 Athletics 28 35 .444 9 Seattle 27 36 .429 10 EURO 2012 FIRST ROUND GROUP A GP W D L GF GA PTS Russia 2 1 1 0 5 24 Czech Rep. 2 1 0 1 3 53 Poland 2 0 2 0 2 22 Greece 2 0 1 1 2 41 Saturday's matches At Warsaw, Poland Greece vs. Russia,11:45 a.m. At Wroclaw, Poland Czech Republic vs. Poland, 11:45 a.m. GROUP B GP W D L GF GA PTS Germany 2 2 0 0 3 16 Portugal 2 1 0 1 3 33 Denmark 2 1 0 1 3 33 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 1 30 Wednesday's results At Lviv, Ukraine Portugal 3, Denmark 2 At Kharkiv, Ukraine Germany 2, Netherlands 1 Sunday's matches At Kharkiv, Ukraine Portugal vs. Netherlands, 11:45 a.m. At Lviv, Ukraine Denmark vs. Germany, 11:45 a.m. GROUP C PTS Spain GP W D L GF GA Croatia 1 1 0 0 3 13 Italy 1 0 1 0 1 11 1 0 1 0 1 11 Ireland 1 0 0 1 1 30 Today's matches At Poznan, Poland Italy vs. Croatia, 9 a.m. At Gdansk, Poland Spain vs. Ireland, 11:45 a.m. Monday's matches At Gdansk, Poland Croatia vs. Spain, 11:45 a.m. At Poznan, Poland Italy vs. Ireland, 11:45 a.m. GROUP D GP W D L GF GA PTS Ukraine 1 1 0 0 2 13 England 1 0 1 0 1 11 France 1 0 1 0 1 11 Sweden 1 0 0 1 1 20 Friday's matches At Kiev, Ukraine Sweden vs. England, Noon At Donetsk, Ukraine Ukraine vs. France, 11:45 a.m. Tuesday's matches At Kiev, Ukraine Sweden vs. France, 11:45 a.m. At Donetsk, Ukraine England vs. Ukraine, 11:45 a.m.