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ByAndrewSeligman TheAssociatedPress LAKE FOREST, ILL. A winning record, a shot at the playoffs and just about all hope for some- thing positive got squashed al- most as soon as the season started. The Chicago Bears have that in common with the San Fran- cisco 49ers. But at least they have won since the season opener. San Francisco will try to snap a franchise-record 10-game los- ing streak when it visits Chicago in a matchup between two of the NFL's worst teams on Sunday. The 49ers (1-10) have not won since they opened with a 28-0 win over Los Angeles, though it's not like the Bears (2-9) have fared much better. "I think these guys have been fantastic in terms of their ap- proach every day," San Fran- cisco coach Chip Kelly said. Both teams have been hit hard by injuries and poor play in general. They're simply look- ing for some signs of progress in the final stretch of a dismal season. "You are only as good as your record says you are," Bears line- backer Willie Young said. "We've been battling, from A to Z, we've been battling. I really feel that this year, with all of the young guys that we have, and even guys coming from winning or- ganizations who are not famil- iar with dealing with adversity like such, I really think it's going to help and build us as a team in the future." Here are some things to know as the 49ers try to end their slide against the struggling Bears: BARKLEY'S CHANCE Chicago's Matt Barkley will try to build on a promising performance in last week's 27-21 loss to Tennessee. He threw for a career-high 316 yards and his first three touch- downs as a pro with Jay Cutler sidelined by a right shoulder in- jury, and he led a fourth-quarter rally that came up short when Josh Bellamy dropped a pass in the end zone in the final minute. Now, he's about to meet the coach who drafted him . The for- mer Southern California quar- terback was taken by Philadel- phia in the fourth round in 2013 but wasn't seen as a good fit for Kelly's offense because he is not NFL Bears, 49ers seek positives in dismal season Sunday:SanFrancisco49ers at Chicago Bears, 10a.m., TV on FOX. TUNEIN By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter ANDERSON The Red Bluff Lady Spartans girls basketball team went to 2-0 on the season with a 65-29 romp over the Anderson Cubs in Anderson. The Spartans went up early, taking a 37-20 lead into half- time and the fourth period was all Spartans, outscoring the Cubs 22-7. A pair of sophomores led the Spartans with double-doubles. Carissa Twitchell had 14 points, the team's only 3-pointer and 10 rebounds and Jessie Miller had 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Maggie Winning and Kylee Kitchell each had nine points and Kitchell pulled down six re- bounds; Allyson Drury and Lexi Pritchard each had eight points and eight and seven rebounds, re- spectively. The Spartans were scheduled to play the Las Plumas Thunder- birds on Friday night at the An- derson tournament, which con- tinues Saturday. Cardinals48,Hayfork27 ANDERSON The Corning Lady Cardinals knocked off the Hay- fork Timberjacks on Thursday, GIRLS BASKETBALL SPARTANS, CARDS, BULLDOGS WIN BIG RedBluffslamsAnderson,CorningblastsHayfork,LMroutsElkCreek LARRY LONG — CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Los Molinos' Ragen Shannon puts up a le -handed layup Friday a ernoon against Elk Creek at Princeton. Los Molinos' Rachel Rogers goes up for a shot Friday a ernoon against Elk Creek in Princeton. By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter WHEATLAND The Red Bluff Spartans boys basketball team opened the Wheatland tour- nament Thursday with a 65-53 win over the Lincoln Fighting Zebras. Derek Gordon led the scoring for the Spartans with 18 points, including a 3-pointer; Payton Edwards had a pair of 3-pointers and put up 14; Evan Tanner hit four from beyond the arc and had 13 points; Brayden Hutchins had 11 points; Donald Vargas had five and Matt Glebe and Eric Spencer each had two. The win takes the Spartans to 2-0 in nonleague play for the sea- son. They were scheduled to face the Marysville Indians (3-0) on Friday night and continue tour- nament play Saturday. Cardinals76,Orland70(OT) DURHAM The Corning Cardi- nals started their season with a 76-70 overtime win Thursday night over the Orland Trojans at the Herb Jergentz Tournament in Durham. Juniors Brendan Hoag and Corey Busta led the way for the Cardinals with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Hoag hit a trio of 3-pointers and led the team with 11 rebounds, while Busta sank 6 of 6 free throws, pulled in six rebounds and had three blocks. Mario Tapia had 13 points, with three 3-pointers, three rebounds and four blocks; Austin Mishoe had eight points and six re- bounds; Daniel Vazquez had four points, a rebound and a block and Camren Olson had two points and two rebounds. Tyler Grine had six rebounds. The Cardinals were scheduled to take on the Lassen Grizzlies on Friday night and continue tourna- ment play Saturday. Princeton 55, Bulldogs 43 LOS MOLINOS The host Bulldogs fell Thursday to the Princeton Ea- gles 55-43 at the Block LM Tour- nament. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start, as the Eagles went up 18-5 in the first period. Los Molinos would come on stronger in the second half but it wouldn't be enough. The Bulldogs (1-1) were sched- uled Friday to face the Providence Lions of Orland and CORE Butte. They will host the Greenville In- dians at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Providence 62, Warriors 22 LOS MOLINOS The Mercy War- riors fell 62-22 to the Providence Lions on Thursday afternoon at the Block LM Tournament. The Warriors (0-2) are sched- uled to visit McArthur on Tues- day night to face the Fall River Bulldogs. BOYS BASKETBALL Spartans,Cardswinopeners Red Bluff beats Lincoln, Corning tops Orland, Bulldogs, Warriors fall at Los Molinos tourney Online: To follow local basketball all season visit REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/SPORTS. Courtesy of the PRCA LAS VEGAS Ryder Wright didn't waste any time Thursday mak- ing an impact at his first Wran- gler National Finals Rodeo. The 18-year-old from Mil- ford, Utah, took the Round 1 sad- dle bronc riding win with an 87.5-point ride on Frontier Ro- deo's Times Up to earn a check worth $26,231, and move from 14th to sixth in the PRCA World Standings. When told he had just won that amount of money, Wright was a bit stunned. "I hadn't thought about (what to spend the money on)," Wright said. "I'll buy lots of toys, I guess." It was a family affair in the event Thursday night, as Ryder's father, two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Cody Wright, placed second. Ryder's uncle Jake Wright was third, and Ry- der's older brother Rusty placed fifth. That's four of the night's six checks written out to Wrights. "I think (my family) will say, 'Good job,' hopefully. I'm on cloud nine," Ryder said. "My thoughts are scattered — pulling into Vegas is like it's an- other year, but crawling into the bucking chutes you can't describe. You wanted to do it your whole life, and it's here, and it's about having fun." Ryder's score tied for the sec- ond-highest ever in the first round of saddle bronc riding at the WNFR. It tied Jeffery Wil- lert's 87.5 from 2005, while the best first-round score ever was Bryce Miller's 89 in 2008. Ryder Wright was brimming with confidence, and says the big first night sets the pace for the up- coming nine. "Damn right it does - I hope the next nine nights are just like that," he said. "It's freaking awe- some - a dream come true." Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler are the first all-Canadian team roping team to qualify for the WNFR, and they made every- body north of the border proud with their first run together in the Thomas & Mack Center. Simpson, of Ponoka, Alberta, and Buhler, of Arrowwood, Al- berta, clocked a 4.4-second run, which was two-tenths of a second better than the rest of the field. "This feels amazing," Simpson said. "To come here and represent our country and have the support we do back home and here, there are so many of our fans and fam- ily who came here to support us. To be in the record books as the first Canadian team is awesome, and to throw in a win in the first round is every little boy's dream who grows up team roping. He wants to win a round, and a gold buckle." Simpson moved up six spots to eighth in the world standings among headers, while Buhler shot up seven spots to fifth in the world standings on the heeling side. "It's pretty awesome," Buhler said. "We have people texting and sending messages and stuff, and it feels good to have all of them be- hind us and to do good. "The cattle were pretty big and strong, and I think this was RODEO Wright makes an impact as NFR opens NFR PAGE 4 GIRLS PAGE 4 49ERS PAGE 4 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, December 3, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1