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DONALDMIRALLE—GETTYIMAGES Raiders outside linebacker Bruce Irvin, shown here bringing down the San Diego Chargers' Philip Rivers, is pushing to get his first double-digit sack season. ByJimmyDurkin BayAreaNewsGroup ALAMEDA BruceIrvinmakesnose- cret about his desire to deliver his first 10-sack season. "I definitely want to get that," Ir- vin said. "I definitely … I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna get it." The Raiders outside linebacker, in his first season in Oakland after four years with the Seattle Seahawks, has made the elusive double-digit sack season a possibility with five in his past five games. His seven sacks on the year leave him one away from his previous ca- reer high, set as a Seattle rookie in 2012. Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., Irvin's linebackers coach for three years in Seattle, likes the fact that Irvin is motivated to reach that milestone. "No question," Norton said. "Bruce has been trying to get there for a long time. He's really been trying to get to that point. But to his value, he does so much. "Everybody likes sacks, but Bruce is our spy, he's our cover guy, he's the guy on the other side of Khalil, he's the guy who re-routes receivers well, he's one of our fastest, best athletes, he's a guy who shows up early and studies late, he's one of the team lead- ers and you see the way he comes. He might not have a lot of sacks, but he has a lot of quarterback hits." Norton even said Irvin reminds him of one of his former teammates Charles Haley, a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee. "He didn't get a lot of sacks, but he always disrupted the quarterback, got him off the spot and is a guy who everyone knew where he was," Nor- ton said. The Raiders talked after sign- ing Irvin about "bringing him for- ward" — their lingo for saying they RAIDERS Irvineyesdoubledigitsinsacks Linebacker three sacks away from reaching coveted milestone Saturday: Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders, 1:05p.m., TV on CBS. TUNEIN By Brian Mahoney The Associated Press NEW YORK Kevin Durant had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Golden State War- riors turned an ugly start into an easy finish in a 117-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. Klay Thompson added 23 points for the Warriors, who opened a three-game road trip that leads into their NBA Finals rematch in Cleveland on Christ- mas. They didn't look ready while falling behind by 16 at halftime, but were back to their sometimes unstoppable selves while outscor- ing the Nets by 32 points over the final 24 minutes. Stephen Curry and Zaza Pachu- lia each finished with 15 points for the Warriors, who played without Draymond Green, who returned to the Bay Area early Thursday after the birth of his son, Dray- mond Jamal Green Jr. Brook Lopez scored 28 points for Brooklyn, but just five in the second half as the Nets dropped their fourth straight. They com- plete a back-to-back against the last two NBA champions when NBA WARRIORSRALLY FOR WIN OVER NETS Durant posts 26 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists as Golden State turns around ugly start in win Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives to the basket while defended by Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic during the second half Thursday in New York. The Warriors defeated the Nets 117-101. PHOTOS BY ADAM HUNGER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) is defended by Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic during the first half Thursday in New York. WARRIORS 117, NETS 101 Up next: Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons, 4:30p.m. Friday, TV on CSN-BA. THESCORE By Barry Wilner The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA The New York Giants will have to wait a while to make the playoffs. Malcolm Jenkins had the sec- ond two-interception game of his eight-year career, returning one for a touchdown, and the Philadelphia Eagles snapped a five-game slide by beating the Giants 24-19 on Thursday night. The loss handed Dallas the NFC East title — and home-field ad- vantage throughout the confer- ence playoffs. It also put the Giants (10-5) in a more difficult spot for end- ing their four-season playoff drought. They still own the top wild-card position heading into their finale at Washington. New York can still get in this weekend if Detroit, Green Bay, Tampa Bay or Atlanta loses. Carson Wentz threw a touch- down pass to Nelson Agholor, then returned from being ex- amined for a concussion in the fourth quarter to guide a drive to Caleb Sturgis' 41-yard field goal. After New York's Robbie Gould made his fourth field goal, Philadelphia (5-9) held on downs with just under two min- utes remaining. The Giants got the ball back with 1:31 left and Terrence Brooks intercepted to clinch it with 5 seconds to go. Eli Manning was inconsis- tent with his throws all night. On Jenkins' second interception, the throw was woefully short. Indeed, the Giants came up short because they fell behind early and didn't catch up. Right tackle Lane Johnson's return from a 10-game suspen- sion paid dividends immedi- NFL Eagles keep Giants from taking playoff berth By Janie Har The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A 107-year-old Northern California woman who gained fame very late in life as an avid and gregarious fan of the Golden State Warriors died Thursday. Helen Brooks was better known as "Sweetie" and became a media darling last year after The Mercury News of San Jose wrote about her decades-long dedica- tion to the team that eventually won the NBA championship in 2015. Brooks loved to tell the play- ers what to do from the comfort of her living room. She disdained sloppy play. Warriors coach Steve Kerr even gave a shoutout to Brooks on TV last year, and she was invited to watch the team play from a suite at Oracle Arena. The coach also paid homage to her Thursday, saying the Warriors had lost its oldest fan. "She took great joy in our team over the years and especially when we won the championship a couple years ago, she was really happy," Kerr said before a road game against the Brooklyn Nets. "We wanted to send along our condolences to her family." Daughter Lily Toney said her mother was a positive person who cracked subtle jokes and didn't let the little things in life bother NBA Warriors oldest fan dies at age of 107 By Jason Chatraw The Associated Press BOISE, IDAHO Matt Linehan threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a another score to help Idaho beat Colorado State 61-50 on Thursday night in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in the third-highest scoring game in bowl history. Idaho (9-4) matched its highest victory total since moving to FBS in 1996, but the victory will do nothing to quell the debate over the school's decision to move back down to FCS play. In April, the Sun Belt informed the school it was dropping Idaho after the 2017 season. Colorado State (7-6) finished with a bowl loss for the second straight year. After a scoreless first quar- ter, it appeared that both teams had dug in for a defensive battle. But that quickly dissipated as the teams started rolling up points. The bowl record for points is 125 in Marshall's 64-61, double- overtime victory over East Car- olina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl. POTATO BOWL Idaho beats Colorado State 61-50 FAN PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 WARRIORS PAGE 2 POTATO PAGE 2 EAGLES PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, December 23, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1