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at3p.m.todayintheBlock LM Tournament in Los Molinos. The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to begin the season against Elk Creek on Friday. The Mercy Warriors boys team was sched- uled to open play at the Block LM Tournament on Wednesday night. The Lady Warriors are scheduled to visit the Fall River Bulldogs on Tues- day. Basketball FROMPAGE1 bottom of the AL West for the second straight season — another year of injuries and big-name departures. One of general manager David Forst's first calls this offseason was to Joyce's agent, Seth Levinson. "I told him I thought Matt would be a good fit. We made no secret of the fact that we were out there looking for outfielders," Forst said. "He's a guy who has played in the American League, spent a year in the AmericanLeagueWest,he's familiar with everything here. He has a really con- sistent track record of hit- tingright-handedpitching." While Forst envisions Joyce as a regular against righty pitchers, Oakland's brass also took notice of his adjustments and progress hitting lefties last season. For a club that puts value in walks and on-base per- centage, his patience at the plate was another impor- tant factor. The A's are still actively looking for a center fielder and might add at the cor- ner outfield spots, too, Forst said. Catcher Stephen Vogt will be a familiar face for Joyce as they were team- mates in 2012 with Tampa Bay. "I'm excited to have Matt here!" Vogt wrote in a text message. "He was a good friend and teammate and happy to be playing with him again. He is a smart and great hitter with one of the smoothest swings in baseball. We are going to learn a lot from him." Joyce FROM PAGE 1 they're the only two, in my opinion, that are compara- ble." Mack has showed con- tinual improvement since coming into the league as the fifth overall pick out of Buffalo in 2014. He made a big impact as a rookie in Oakland although he only managed four sacks. He added a few new wrin- kles last year and boosted his production to 15 sacks, including five in one game against eventual Super Bowl champion Denver. This year, he's doing it all. From his athletic in- terception and return for a score last week against Carolina to his nine sacks to his 60 quarterback pres- sures which lead all edge rushers, according to Pro Football Focus, to his new role as defensive leader now that Justin Tuck and Charles Woodson have re- tired. Mack gives motivational talks before games and has come up with the motto "By any means" that his teammates have adopted as the mantra for this year's Raiders. "Even though I'm a younger player, I'm just stepping in and doing my part and my role," he said. "It's all about that for me. There are still a lot of things we have to do better defensively. That's what's on my mind right now." That perfectionist streak helped Mack grow from a player who got near the quarterback so often as a rookie but was unable to generate sacks to one who leads the NFL in that cate- gory the past two seasons with 24. He has done it despite constantly getting extra attention and recording just one sack the first five weeks. "I think the production has come and the stats have come to where everybody else recognizes what he's been doing, but to me he's been really good," coach Jack Del Rio said. "Khalil is a rare combination be- cause he's a supremely gifted athlete, but he's got terrific work ethic. This guy comes out and busts it every day for us. He's a great teammate. He's hum- ble. He can bring it and he brings it every day. That's why I had the confidence I had that someday the num- bers would come." For Mack, the per- sonal numbers mean far less than the team's suc- cess. He took it person- ally when the defense got off to a rough start, allow- ing more than 500 yards in each of the first two games of the season and ranking near the bottom of the league in most cat- egories early. But there has been im- provement lately, espe- cially during a five-game winning streak that has carried Oakland into a tie for the top spot in the AFC with New England. Even when the defense gives up big plays, it has been stout late. Oakland has faced nine drives this season in the final five min- utes of regulation or over- time when tied or leading by eight points or fewer and allowed no points on those possessions. The latest came in the win over the Panthers when the Raiders blew a 17-point halftime lead only to rally from eight points down to go up 35-32 before Mack's strip sack ended the comeback attempt. "You just see him go out there and he does exactly what he says he's going to do," quarterback Derek Carr said. Raiders FROM PAGE 1 Scoreboard Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Oakland 9 2 0 .818 307 275 Kansas City 8 3 0 .727 252 214 Denver 7 4 0 .636 266 219 San Diego 5 6 0 .455 313 291 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA New England 9 2 0 .818 293 197 Miami 7 4 0 .636 249 240 Buffalo 6 5 0 .545 281 236 N.Y. Jets 3 8 0 .273 196 266 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Houston 6 5 0 .545 194 236 Tennessee 6 6 0 .500 308 296 Indianapolis 5 6 0 .455 270 301 Jacksonville 2 9 0 .182 214 293 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Baltimore 6 5 0 .545 218 201 Pittsburgh 6 5 0 .545 266 222 Cincinnati 3 7 1 .318 213 245 Cleveland 0 12 0 .000 197 352 NATIONAL CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Seattle 7 3 1 .682 224 187 Arizona 4 6 1 .409 245 228 Los Angeles 4 7 0 .364 170 236 San Francisco1 10 0 .091 228 344 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Dallas 10 1 0 .909 316 213 N.Y. Giants 8 3 0 .727 231 213 Washington 6 4 1 .591 280 264 Philadelphia 5 6 0 .455 254 213 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Atlanta 7 4 0 .636 358 302 Tampa Bay 6 5 0 .545 249 264 New Orleans 5 6 0 .455 334 307 Carolina 4 7 0 .364 276 281 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Detroit 7 4 0 .636 247 238 Minnesota 6 5 0 .545 218 192 Green Bay 5 6 0 .455 274 289 Chicago 2 9 0 .182 178 264 Thursday Dallas at Minnesota, 5:25 p.m. Sunday Kansas City at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Los Angeles at New England, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Mi am i a t B alt im or e, 1 0 a .m . Denver at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. Detroit at New Orleans, 10 a.m. San Francisco at Chicago, 10 a.m. Houston at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Oakland, 1:05 p.m. Washington at Arizona, 1:25 p.m. Tampa Bay at San Diego, 1:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh, 1:25 p.m. Carolina at Seattle, 5:30 p.m. Open: Tennessee, Cleveland Monday Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGE TOP 25 SCHEDULE Friday No. 4 Washington vs. No. 9 Colorado, Pac- 12 championship at Santa Clara, 6 p.m. No. 13 Western Michigan vs. Ohio, MAC championship at Detroit, 4 p.m. Saturday No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 15 Florida, SEC championship at Atlanta, 1 p.m. No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech, ACC championship at Orlando, Fla., 5 p.m. No. 6 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Penn State, Big Ten championship at Indianapolis, 5:17 p.m. No. 7 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State, 9:20 a.m. No. 14 West Virginia vs. Baylor, 12:30 p.m. No. 20 Navy vs. Temple, AAC champion- ship, 9 a.m. Basketball NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION W L Pct GB Golden State 16 2 .889 — Clippers 14 5 .737 21/2 Lakers 10 10 .500 7 Sacramento 7 11 .389 9 Phoenix 6 13 .316 101/2 SOUTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB San Antonio 15 4 .789 — Houston 11 7 .611 31/2 Memphis 11 8 .579 4 New Orleans 7 12 .368 8 Dallas 3 14 .176 11 NORTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB Oklahoma City 12 8 .600 — Utah 11 8 .579 1/2 Portland 9 10 .474 21/2 Denver 7 11 .389 4 Minnesota 5 13 .278 6 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION W L Pct GB Toronto 12 6 .667 — Boston 10 8 .556 2 New York 9 9 .500 3 Brooklyn 5 12 .294 61/2 Philadelphia 4 14 .222 8 SOUTHEAST DIVISION W L Pct GB Charlotte 10 8 .556 — Atlanta 10 9 .526 1/2 Orlando 7 11 .389 3 Wa sh in gt on 6 1 1 .3 53 31 / 2 Miami 6 12 .333 4 CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB Cleveland 13 3 .813 — Chicago 10 7 .588 31/2 Milwaukee 8 8 .500 5 Detroit 10 10 .500 5 Indiana 9 9 .500 5 Wednesday's games Sacramento at Philadelphia, ppd. Detroit 121, Boston 114 Toronto 120, Memphis 105 Lakers 96, Chicago 90 New York 106, Minnesota 104 Oklahoma City 126, Washington 115, OT San Antonio 94, Dallas 87 Miami 106, Denver 98 Phoenix 109, Atlanta 107 Indiana at Portland, n Thursday's games Dallas at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Clippers at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Orlando at Memphis, 5 p.m. Miami at Utah, 6 p.m. Houston at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. COLLEGE MEN'S TOP 25 FARED Wednesday 1. Kentucky (7-0) did not play. 2. Villanova (7-0) did not play. 3. North Carolina (7-1) lost to No. 13 Indiana 76-67. 4. Kansas (6-1) did not play. 5. Duke (7-1) did not play. 6. Virginia (7-0) beat Ohio State 63-61. 7. Xavier (7-0) did not play. 8. Gonzaga (6-0) did not play. 9. Baylor (7-0) beat Sam Houston State 79-45. 10. Creighton (7-0) did not play. 11. UCLA (7-0) vs. UC Riverside. 12. Saint Mary's (5-0) at Stanford. 13. Indiana (5-1) beat No. 3 North Caro- lina 76-67. 14. Louisville (6-1) beat No. 15 Purdue 71-64. 15. Purdue (5-2) lost to No. 14 Louisville 71-64. 16. Arizona (6-1) beat Texas Southern 85-63. 17. Wisconsin (6-2) did not play. 18. Butler (7-0) did not play. 19. Iowa State (5-1) did not play. 20. South Carolina (6-0) did not play. 21. Rhode Island (5-2) did not play. 22. Syracuse (4-2) did not play. 23. Oregon (5-2) vs. Western Oregon. 24. Florida (6-1) did not play. 25. West Virginia (5-1) did not play. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE PA CI FI C D IVI SI ON GP W L OT Pts GF GA San Jose 23 13 9 1 27 54 49 Anaheim 23 11 8 4 26 59 55 Edmonton 24 12 10 2 26 70 63 Los Angeles 22 12 9 1 25 57 54 Calgary 26 11 13 2 24 60 77 Vancouver 23 10 11 2 22 54 70 Arizona 21 8 10 3 19 51 65 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 24 15 6 3 33 68 60 St. Louis 23 13 7 3 29 62 63 Nashville 22 11 8 3 25 65 57 Minnesota 22 11 8 3 25 62 47 Dallas 24 9 9 6 24 61 79 Winnipeg 25 11 12 2 24 66 72 Colorado 21 9 11 1 19 47 63 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Montreal 23 16 5 2 34 68 50 Ottawa 23 14 8 1 29 55 56 Tampa Bay 24 13 10 1 27 71 65 Boston 23 12 10 1 25 55 53 Detroit 23 11 10 2 24 57 59 Florida 23 11 10 2 24 58 60 Toronto 23 10 9 4 24 70 74 Buffalo 22 8 9 5 21 44 57 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA N.Y. Rangers 24 16 7 1 33 88 59 Pittsburgh 23 13 7 3 29 69 70 Washington 21 13 6 2 28 57 48 Columbus 21 12 5 4 28 67 48 New Jersey 22 10 7 5 25 55 58 Philadelphia 24 11 10 3 25 77 80 Carolina 22 9 9 4 22 54 59 N.Y. Islanders 22 8 10 4 20 56 67 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Tuesday's games N.Y. Rangers 3, Carolina 2 Columbus 5, Tampa Bay 1 Detroit 3, Dallas 1 Philadelphia 3, Boston 2, SO Buffalo 5, Ottawa 4 Winnipeg 3, New Jersey 2 Chicago 2, Florida 1, SO Toronto 4, Edmonton 2 Nashville 5, Colorado 3 San Jose 2, Arizona 1, OT Anaheim 2, Montreal 1 Vancouver 5, Minnesota 4 Wednesday's games N.Y. Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 3 Calgary 3, Toronto 0 San Jose at Los Angeles, n | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016 2 B