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ByAnthonySlater BayAreaNewsGroup INDIANAPOLIS Now on his third franchise since his War- rior days, Monta Ellis' skills have aged. His impact has les- soned. But that bolt of a first step remains in the tank. Late in the second quarter on Mon- day night, he used it, trying to make a pebble of a dent in the Warriors' massive lead. Ellis zipped by Steph Curry, drew two help defenders and laid off a beautiful pass to Glenn Robinson III for what looked to be an easy dunk. Robinson rose to drop in the easy two. But as he did, long- limbed Kevin Durant released from his perimeter-based as- signment, soared into the paint and swatted away Rob- inson's dunk before he could get it over the rim or even knew Durant was in the vi- cinity. The Warriors smashed the Pacers 120-83 on Monday, cap- ping an impressive 4-0 East- ern road trip. Indiana was missing Paul George and Myles Turner. The block, in a vacuum, was inconsequen- tial in a predictable blowout. But it was another example of a supposed Warrior issue that has, to this point of the sea- son, proven to be overblown: This team is protecting the rim quite well. "Our block shots sort of come in different ways now," Steve Kerr said. "They used to come from (Andrew) Bogut and (Festus) Ezeli. Now they come from KD, Draymond (Green), Andre (Iguodala). It's a long, active perimeter that ends up with a lot of the shot blocks. So it is different." But it's been effective. The Warriors blocked 10 Pacers shots on Monday, upping the team's per game average to 6.1, tied for the fourth most in the NBA and exactly equal to what the team averaged a season ago, when they fin- ished third. Bogut is gone and no tradi- tional, soaring DeAndre Jor- dan, Hassan Whiteside type took his place. Zaza Pachulia has stumbled into only three blocks in 14 games. But Golden State is protecting the rim NBA WARRIORSSMASHPACERS, CAP UNBEATEN ROAD TRIP TheWarriors'KlayThompsonshoots during the first half against the Indiana Pacers on Monday in Indianapolis. PHOTOS BY DARRON CUMMINGS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Warriors' Stephen Curry, le , is pursued by Indiana Pacers' Monta Ellis on Monday. By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group SANTA CLARA Saddled with a nine-game losing streak, 49ers coach Chip Kelly on Monday tried to make sense of the team's run-based offensive makeup and why that hasn't translated to success in his first season. "We're built to run the foot- ball," Kelly said. "I mean, Car- los (Hyde) is the main focus of what we do offensively. We have a running quarterback that complements him. And then our play-action pass comple- ments that." The 49ers (1-9) rank a re- spectable sixth in rushing. But, overall, they're still managing the fourth-fewest yards in the league, and that's because their passing attack is unable to play catch-up when they face deficits. Kelly's 49ers are the league's worst ball hogs, ranking last in time of possession (26 minutes, 17 seconds). Even though they're averag- ing the fifth-most carries per game (29.2), the 49ers passing attack ranks 30th both in yards per game (189.8) and yards per attempt (5.6). "We're not a team that's go- ing to throw the ball 60 times a game," Kelly said, reiterating Sunday's comments after a 30- 17 loss to the New England Pa- triots. "That's just not how we're built." General manager Trent Baalke is the man who's built that roster, and that run-first strategy helped carry the 49ers to the Super Bowl four seasons ago. Kelly, upon his January hir- ing, also preached a preference for a run-oriented offense, and he hasn't veered from that amid this season's travails. "When we're running the ball successfully and play-ac- tion pass off of that, we're very good as an offensive football team," Kelly said. "But to think we're going to go into a game and throw the ball 60 times and win, that's not a game plan for success for us." The Patriots turned a 13-10 halftime lead into a 30-10 mar- gin before the 49ers offense re- sponded with points, those com- 49ERS Ke ll y re vi si ts o ff en si ve s tr at eg y am id n in e- ga me s ki d Staff reports SACRAMENTO The 30th annual CIF State Cross Country Champi- onships are scheduled for Satur- day, Nov. 26 at Woodward Park in Fresno, the only home the event has ever known since 1987. Two Tehama County athletes have qualified for the event — Red Bluff High senior Naomi Ren- froe in Division III and Corning High junior Austin Mishoe in Di- vision IV. The 5,000-meter course has hard packed dirt trails with some grass and asphalt. It features mild ups and downs over rolling hills with one steep short hill. The top three teams and 10 individuals in each race will re- ceive awards in all five divisions for both boys and girls. Visit the State CIF website at www.cifstate. org for a complete listing of en- tries. General admission for the event is $10 for adults and $5 for chil- dren, students and seniors. Tick- ets may be purchased at the park noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 and throughout the day Saturday. The Division IV Boys Race is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and the Division III Girls Race at 1:20 p.m. Awards will be presented to Division IV Boys at 10 a.m. and Division III Girls at 1:55 p.m. CROSS COUNTRY Localrunnersqualifyforstatemeet The Associated Press NEWYORK Steroids-tainted stars Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodri- guezareonbaseball'sHallofFame ballot for the first time along with Vladimir Guerrero. Jeff Bagwell is the top holdover on the 2017 Baseball Writers' As- sociation of America 34-player bal- lot announced Monday. He fell 15 votes short of the required 75 per- cent in 2016 voting. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers for using a banned female fertility drug. He retired in 2011 rather than face a 100-game suspension after test- ing positive for a performance- enhancing substance. He applied for reinstatement that December, and his suspension for the second failed test was cut from 100 games to 50 because he sat out nearly all of the 2011 season. Ramirez did not play in the ma- jors again, although he did appear at Triple-A from 2012-14. Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, also tainted by steroids allegations, are on the ballot for the fifth time. After a change on voting eligibility rules eliminated some retired writers, Clemens rose to 45.2 percent and Bonds to 44.3 percent in last year's voting. Players remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, provided they re- ceive at least 5 percent of the vote. Results will be announced Jan. 18. Rodriguez was never disci- plined for PEDs but former Texas teammate Jose Canseco alleged in a 2005 book that he injected the catcher with steroids. Asked whether he was on the list of play- ers who allegedly tested positive for steroids during baseball's 2003 survey, Rodriguez said in 2009: "Only God knows." A 12-time All-Star, Ramirez helped the Boston Red Sox win World Series titles in 2004 and '07, the first for the franchise since 1918. He hit .312 with 555 home runs and 1,831 RBIs in 19 big league seasons, and he was voted MVP of the 2004 Series. Rodriguez was a 14-time All- Star and 13-time Gold Glove catcher, and he was voted AL MVP in 2008 with Texas, his team for the first 12 of his 21 big league seasons. He batted .296 with 311 homers and 1,332 RBIs, winning a World Series with the Florida Mar- lins in 2003 after earning MVP of the NL Championship Series. Guerrero was a nine-time All- Star and the 2004 AL MVP with the Anaheim Angels. He hit .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs in 16 big league seasons. Also among 19 newcomers on the ballot are Casey Blake, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, J.D. Drew, Carlos Guil- len, Derrek Lee, Melvin Mora, Magglio Ordonez, Jorge Posada, Edgar Renteria, Arthur Rhodes, Freddy Sanchez, Matt Stairs, Ja- son Varitek and Tim Wakefield. Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza HALL OF FAME Ramirez, Rodriguez on Hall ballot with Guerrero WINSLOW TOWNSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Steroids-tainted stars Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez are on baseball's Hall of Fame ballot for the first time along with Vladimir Guerrero, Monday. 49ERS PAGE 2 BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 49ers nose tackle Glenn Dorsey sits on the bench during the second half against the New England Patriots in Santa Clara Sunday. HALL PAGE 2 GoldenStateblocks10shots,endsEastCoastswing4-0 WARRIORS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, November 22, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1