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ByDavidDeBolt BayAreaNewsGroup OAKLAND As the clock ticks closer to the NFL owners' vote on a Raiders-to-Las Vegas deal, Oak- land Mayor Libby Schaaf on Tues- day announced local leaders are close to getting a deal to try and keep the team here, and one that won't need public money. Speaking before reporters out- side Oakland City Hall, a confi- dent Schaaf said Alameda County and city officials are ramping up closed-door meetings with NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and his investment group. "The Raiders belong in Oak- land. They are part of our iden- tity," the mayor said. "This is one small step in a complicated deal." The team's future home hinges on more than Oakland's ability to hammer out a development deal for the Coliseum site. Team owner Mark Davis needs to buy in to any plan, and he has previously said he's committed to moving the team to Las Vegas, where in Oc- tober lawmakers voted to raise hotel room taxes to help finance a $1.9 billion stadium. However, that deal is not yet done either: Three-quarters of NFL owners must approve the move, which seems more likely if East Bay officials cannot pull to- gether a stadium financial plan to present before team owners begin meetings early next year. Neither Davis nor Lott could be reached for comment Tuesday. Alameda supervisors discussed the proposed deal behind closed doors Tuesday morning, but Su- pervisor Scott Haggerty, the president of the board, down- played Schaaf's comments that the county was close to voting on Lott's proposal. Haggerty said the city has not released informa- tion supervisors have requested. He would not say what that infor- NFL NotsofastonRaidersleaving By Ronald Blum The Associated Press NEWYORK Bruce Arena was a de- cade removed from the U.S. na- tional team when he received a telephone call from U.S. Soccer Federation Secretary General Dan Flynn on Sunday asking him to meet with USSF President Sunil Gulati the following day. By midday Tuesday, the win- ningest coach in the team's his- tory regained the job he had not wanted to give up. "I never expected to be back in this role the way it came about over the last 48 hours," Arena ex- plained. "I hate to say this now to Sunil: I would've done this for free." A day after Jurgen Klinsmann was fired following two losses that began the final round of World Cup qualifying, Arena agreed to a contract running through the 2018 tournament in Russia. With the Americans 0-2 at this stage for the first time, the USSF wants to spark a turnaround when competition resumes March 24 with a home game against Honduras followed four days later with a match at Panama. The 65-year-old Arena, inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010, starts work Dec. 1. "We need to build the chemis- try of this team and have a com- mon goal and really work on a team concept," he said during SOCCER ARENA RETURNS FOR ANOTHER RUN WILFREDOLEE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Jurgen Klinsmann was fired Monday as U.S. men's soccer coach following two losses in the final round of World Cup qualifying. ALEX GALLARDO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Bruce Arena, above, will return as coach of the U.S. men's team. He is the winningest coach in American national team history. By Michael Marot The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Scott Tolzien and Stephen Morris stood to- gether in the corner of the end zone at Tuesday's practice. Suddenly, the two healthy In- dianapolis Colts quarterbacks were the center of attention as they went through their drills. It may be the same way Thurs- day night. With Andrew Luck missing a second straight practice because he remains in the NFL's concus- sion protocol, Indy is prepar- ing to dust off the backup plan for this week's game against the PittsburghSteelers—justincase. "Last year we had musical chairs at the quarterback po- sition and we were still able to win games, still able to play good football and that's what we have to do now," linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "We've finally got some momentum and we'll be ready for this challenge." If Luck can't go, it won't be ex- actly like last season when the Colts (5-5) plugged in former Super Bowl starter Matt Has- selbeck. This time, coach Chuck Paga- no's options appear to be relying on the rarely used Tolzien, the never-used Morris, some com- bination of the two or perhaps even running back Frank Gore out of the wildcat formation. None are ideal for a team looking to build momentum and improve their playoff chances, but they won't have a choice if Luck isn't cleared Wednesday . Pagano didn't drop any hints Tuesday about the Colts' plans or even whether Luck had been ruled out. "Still in the protocol," Pagano said. NFL Colts preparing to go with backup plan at QB The Associated Press NEW YORK Michael Phelps has taken another step to put an of- ficial seal on his retirement. ESPN and NBC Sports re- port Phelps told reporters Mon- day ahead of USA Swimming's Golden Goggle awards that he has removed himself from USA Swimming's drug testing pro- gram. Phelps ended his previ- ous retirement after the 2012 Games by rejoining the same program. Phelps later reiterated his retirement on stage Monday, saying, "I'm done competitive swimming, but I'm never too far away from the pool." Phelps also touched on his secret June wedding to Nicole Johnson. Phelps says he and Johnson married in a "small lit- tle ceremony" in order to make it easier for them to travel to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with their infant son, Boomer. They had a more formal ceremony last month in Mexico. Ph el ps reinforces his move to retirement By Curtis Pashelka Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE The Sharks made Brent Burns the highest paid player on their roster Tuesday, signing the 31-year-old defense- man to an eight-year contract ex- tension worth $64 million. The eight-year deal is maxi- mum allowed under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA. With an aver- age annual value of $8 million, the contract will make Burns the second highest paid defenseman in the league behind Nashville's P.K. Subban, who makes $9 mil- lion per season. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun was the first to report the terms and dollar amount of the contract. LeBrun also reported that deal does not include a no-move clause, but does have a limited no- trade clause and that Burns will make $54 million over the first six years of the deal, then $5 million per season for the final two. Burns was in the final season NHL Burns, Sharks agree to terms on extension Oakland leaders claim they are nearing finish line on plan to keep team in town JOHN LOCHER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Raiders owner Mark Davis, center, would have to buy into any plan aimed at keeping the team in Oakland. He has previously said he's committed to moving the team to Las Vegas. RAIDERS PAGE 2 A decade a er being fired, he is back as coach of the U.S. men's team in place of Klinsmann SOCCER PAGE 2 He removes his name from drug testing program SWIMMING LEE JIN-MAN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Michael Phelps says "I'm done competitive swimming." SHARKS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, November 23, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1