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JOEROBBINS—GETTYIMAGES The 49ers' Colin Kaepernick warms his hands in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. ByCarlSteward BayAreaNewsGroup SANTA CLARA Despite complet- ing just one pass for four yards against the Chicago Bears and getting benched in the second half, Colin Kaepernick will be the starting quarterback when the 49ers host the New York Jets on Sunday. Although head coach Chip Kelly is still in Maine following the death of his father, 49ers of- fensive coordinator Curtis Mod- kins confirmed Tuesday that the club had decided on its quarter- back, and that Kaepernick never really lost his starting spot even though he was replaced by Blaine Gabbert against the Bears. "Kap's going to start and we'll go from there," said Modkins. "We just decided during the game to try and see if Blaine could give us a spark. But Kap's still the starter." Modkins said the offense had been trending in the right direc- tion before the Bears game and that Kaepernick had been one of the biggest reasons for that be- fore his nightmare effort at wet, snowy Soldier Field. Kaepernick completed just 1 of 5 attempts and was sacked five times. In re- lief, Gabbert completed just 4 of 10 passes for 35 yards. Kaepernick said he was told Tuesday morning that he would be the starter against the Jets. Up until then, he wasn't sure how it was going to go. "After the game, that was some- thing I don't know if anybody re- ally knew," he said. "For me, I wanted to make sure regardless I'm coming in and preparing to make sure I'm ready to go on Sun- day." 49ERS Kapwillstartdespitestruggles NEWYORKJETSAT49ERS When: Sunday, 1:05p.m. TV: CBS TUNEIN By Jerry McDonald Bay Area News Group John Madden isn't the only one who thinks Thursday night football is a bad idea. "I think the NFL should just do away with Thursday night games," former Raiders tackle Lincoln Kennedy said. "It's such a violent game. By Thursday, if you're lucky, you're just starting to feel like your body is not beat the hell up," for- mer 49ers center Jeremy New- berry said. During an ESPN spot, ana- lyst and former Raiders safety Charles Woodson opined that the league should axe the Thurs- day night schedule. "You can't guarantee a great Thursday night matchup and I just think it's not good for the players," Woodson said. "Time for Thursday night to go — with the exception of Thanksgiving. Get it out." The Raiders aren't going out of their way to say it, but they're less than thrilled with the idea of crossing two time zones on short rest to play the Kansas City Chiefs in their biggest game in more than a decade. "In my career, if you played on a Thursday, you're going to take some soreness into the game," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "The older guys for sure. Some of the younger guys even . . . tough set of circumstances. We don't mind tough things. We're look- ing forward to the challenge." Madden, a respected NFL consultant, was blunt in his as- sessment of the Thursday night product in a Thanksgiving week interview with the Bay Area News Group's Cam Inman. The Hall of Fame coach and Bay Area icon believes the mar- ket is saturated with too many games given the presence of games on Sunday night and Monday night and that it was too difficult to get quality games with an extra viewing window. "Something has to be done about Thursday night football," Madden said. "It just doesn't work. It's not only a fan thing, it's a team thing. it's a safety thing. It's a competitive thing. It doesn't work." According to NFL figures compiled from 2012 through 2015, there were actually fewer injuries reported per game on Thursday than on Sunday, with the biggest disparity in 2014, when there were 7.3 injuries per game on Sunday as opposed to 4.8 on Thursdays. The Web site Profootball- talk.com, quoting an unnamed source, reported on Nov. 27 the RAIDERS THINK MONDAYS ARE BAD? THURSDAYS EVEN WORSE JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP Charles Woodson, whose final home game was on a Thursday night, thinks the NFL should stick to Sundays and Mondays. RAIDERS AT KANSAS CITY When: Thursday, 5:25p.m. TV: NBC TUNEIN By Ben Walker The Associated Press OXON HILL, MD. No surprise that Chris Sale got traded. The real shocker? That the Boston Red Sox swooped in to snag him. The reloading Red Sox pulled off the biggest deal yet at the win- ter meetings, acquiring the domi- nant ace from the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday for a hefty pack- age of four prospects. "The ability to get a Chris Sale doesn't come along very often," Boston president of baseball op- erations Dave Dombrowski said. Sale joined an already talented rotation with the AL East champi- ons, now pitching alongside 2016 AL Young Award win- ner Rick Porcello, former winner David Price and knuckleballer Ste- ven Wright. He leaves behind a shredded reputation in Chicago, suspended by the team last sum- mer after he flew into a rage and cut up retro uniforms that club was supposed to wear. The 27-year-old Sale has been an All-Star in each of the last five seasons, finishing high in Cy Young Award voting every time, but has never played in the post- season. To get him, Boston traded high-priced third baseman Yoan Moncada, considered by many the top young talent in baseball, along with pitchers Michael Ko- pech and Victor Diaz, and out- fielder Luis Basabe. Sale was a top trade target across the majors this offseason, and Washington seemed to be the favorite to land him this week. "We put a lot of effort into it and thought we made a good, val- iant effort ... and we fell short," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. Dombrowski said he began talking to the White Sox in ear- nest on Friday. "I guess you can look at quick- ness" in different ways, Dom- browski said. To New York Mets manager Terry Collins, it was a great deal — for him, being division rivals of the NL East champion Nats. "I really thought for sure he was going to end up in Washing- ton. I really did," Collins said. "We dodged a bullet." A few hours earlier, Boston got prime setup man Tyler Thorn- burg from Milwaukee. After that deal was announced, without tip- ping his hand, Dombrowski said, "We're trying to win now, as you can see." Few knew then exactly how hard they were trying. "That's a big one. That's a blockbuster. That was a wow," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. Sale was 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and 233 strikeouts this year, a season after he led the majors by fanning 274. He also comes with his benefit: a team-favorable con- tract that calls for a $12 million salary next year and includes club options for 2018 at $12.5 million and 2019 at $15 million. BASEBALL Sold! Red Sox obtain ace Chris Sale from White Sox WARRIORS AT CLIPPERS When: Wednesday, 7:30p.m. TV: CSN, ESPN TUNEIN By Anthony Slater Bay Area News Group LOSANGELES The Warriors' 18-3 start has been fueled by spectac- ular individual performances, highlights galore, historic offen- sive efficiency and enough defense to scoot them out to the league's best record. But another under-the-radar factor has boosted their domi- nant play: A soft schedule. The Warriors have already faced 10 opponents on the second night of a back-to-back and a handful of teams resting major pieces. Things ramp up this week, though, as Golden State bounces around the country for a grueling five-game, seven-day road trip. It includes stops in Utah, Memphis, Minnesota and New Orleans. But the first leg is the most intriguing. The Warriors face the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, the first of four meetings this season between the bitter conference rivals. Fifteen years ago, both fran- chises were NBA bottom-feeders. The Lakers and Kings served as the league's must-watch Califor- nia showdown. But things have flipped the past half-decade. The Kings long ago fell off the map, while the Lakers dipped the past few seasons. The Clip- pers, for the first time ever, rose to relevance, while the Warriors morphed from good to great to historic. As that evolution took place, the current Clipper and Warrior cores locked horns for several dramatic games. That included a physical 7-game series back in 2014 with just happened to have the Donald Sterling saga sur- rounding it. NBA Wa rri or s, Clippers renew rivalry Team is sticking with QB even though he was benched in loss to Bears Raiders-Chiefs will be played with both teams at less than their best RAIDERS PAGE 2 It's the start of big road trip for Golden State WARRIORS PAGE 2 Sale SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, December 7, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1