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2B Daily News – Wednesday, September 5, 2012 RAIDERS OPEN (Continued from page 1B) Potro took to the court, probably owing to the showers that led to about an hour's delay at the start of the marquee match. It was hardly the full house of rowdy, partisan fans that Roddick might have hoped for. More spectators filed in as things progressed, and those who were there cer- tainly grabbed each and every opportunity to cheer for their man. They even gave del Potro a bit of a hard time when he had a couple of ball boys go wipe a wet spot near the baseline with white towels. It was misty at the out- set, and the humidity topped 80 percent, leaving both men's shirts sopped with sweat. MCT file photo Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain,left, tackles Chargers running back Curtis Brinkley in January. McClain looks to be vocal ALAMEDA (AP) — Rolando McClain is working on making himself more of a vocal presence around the Oakland Raiders defense. What the Raiders really need is for their former first-round pick to be a more physical pres- ence on the field in his third sea- son in the NFL. Tide win a national champi- onship in 2009, but he said it's more difficult to do that in the NFL. ''It's different here. It's just McClain has yet to play up to the lofty billing he received as the eighth overall pick out of Alabama in the 2010 draft. Instead of transforming a strug- gling defense, McClain has been part of the problems that have held the Raiders back the past two years. With a new defensive scheme that better suits McClain's style and a focus on being more vocal, the Raiders are hoping for a breakthrough from McClain this season. ''He's more of a vocal different,'' he said. ''You're not dealing with guys your own age. You're dealing with grown men. Being a leader is just not about yelling but understanding guys that you're working with. Differ- ent people respond to different things in different ways. It's fig- uring out your teammates and how they respond to things to get them to work. It's still a process.'' leader,'' safety Michael Huff said. ''Before he's been a leader but a shy, quiet guy who really didn't want to get on people or do that side of it. Now he's get- ting on people, yelling, getting everybody into the huddle, breaking the huddle. ... Either you have it or not. I think he has it and he's bringing it out this year.'' As the defensive signal caller, McClain needs to be vocal to make sure his teammates are in the proper position and know their assignments before every play. He said he had no problems doing that in college at Alabama when he helped the Crimson GOLF | RYDER CUP Snedeker to make U.S. Ryder Cup debut NEW YORK (AP) — Brandt Snedeker had nothing more than big hopes and another strong finish when he left the TPC Boston, expecting to wait deep into the night for a phone call from Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III that would determine if he was on the U.S. team. ''I had no clue one way or another,'' Snedeker said Tues- quite as important as I want them to be right now.'' Also left off was Rickie Fowler, who picked up his first day. ''Got on the plane, got here to Indianapolis and got a voicemail from Davis just asking if I brought my putter from Boston and if I wanted to be on the team. I was just so excit- ed. Couldn't hardly sleep last night. Just a huge, huge thing for my career.'' Snedeker was among four players whom Love selected PGA Tour win this year at Quail Hollow and turned in the most dynamic American performance at Wales two years ago when he won the last four holes to earn a halve that kept alive the American chances. Fowler has not had a top 10 since a tie for fifth at the Colonial in May. ''I definitely felt like I was kind of on the outside looking to fill out his 12-man Ryder Cup team. The captain also took a pair of veterans, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker, and Dustin Johnson, who showed the hottest hand over the past two weeks and who Love said was ''perfect for Medinah.'' The Ryder Cup is Sept. 28-30 at Medinah outside Chica- go, which has hosted the PGA Championship twice since 1999 and is known as a power golf course. Tiger Woods won two majors there. More than power, however, Love emphasized putting. Stricker is regarded as one of the best in the game, and Snedeker is not far behind, as he showed at the British Open and during his charge up the leaderboard the past two weeks at Bethpage Black and the TPC Boston. ''I've been saying a lot that we need hot putters, and there really has not been a hotter putter on tour since the British Open,'' Love said, referring to Snedeker, one of four Ryder Cup rookies for the U.S. There was just as much talk about who didn't make the team. Hunter Mahan, whose two PGA Tour wins this year included the Match Play Championship when he beat Rory McIlroy, was leading the Ryder Cup standings after the Mas- ters and still didn't qualify for the eight automatic spots. He had to rely on a pick after he missed the cut in the PGA Championship, and then he missed the cut at The Bar- clays and was in the middle of the pack at the Deutsche Bank Championship. ''The Ryder Cup has been a goal for every American player, and it's disappointing not to be a part of it,'' Mahan said Tuesday from the BMW Championship in Indiana. ''I've been part of the last five teams, so it hurts not to be a part of it, and it feels a little empty right now. It's tough because I've still got two events to play, and they don't feel in,'' he said. Fowler took a month off between the U.S. Open and British Open to try to stay fresh for the end of the year, and he could only wonder if it cost him. He missed four tourna- ments, including the Travelers Championship and AT&T National, where he could have earned points. ''I can obviously say that maybe we should have went a the key to a defensive turnaround in Oakland after being taken eighth overall in the 2010 draft. He had 85 tackles, a half-sack and one interception as a rookie. He showed signs of improve- ment last season with 99 tackles and five sacks but still had prob- lems in coverage and sometimes took bad angles in the run game, leading to big plays. McClain has allowed 73 com- pletions in 115 pass attempts for 794 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons, according to STATS LLC. McClain was supposed to be will leave him in man coverage less often and give him more chances to blitz will better suit him. ''It's not just my game or any- But he hopes this defense that your number is called.'' McClain's struggles last year were a factor in the Raiders set- ting franchise worsts in touch- down passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history. Oakland became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rush- ing and 4,000 yards passing in a season. ''I'm not talking about the past,'' McClain said. ''This is a new year. The past is the past for a reason. It's a new year, and we got a chance to go out and be as good as we want to be.'' McClain had an eventful off- season that included stem cell treatment on his knee and ankle that he hopes will keep him healthier this season and a court date stemming from a shooting last November in Alabama. McClain was convicted in May in Decatur, Ala., of third- degree assault, menacing, reck- less endangerment and discharg- ing a firearm in the city limits and sentenced to180 days in jail. McClain is appealing the convic- tion to Morgan County Circuit Court and will have a jury trial likely after the season. body's game in particular. I think it suits everybody on the defense from linebacker to d-line to sec- ondary,'' he said. ''We're all able to make plays on the defense. We just have to make them when they found out they would need to come back Wednesday, when the forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of rain. Azarenka and Stosur needed to wait out a 75- minute delay in their first set, but at least they got done. Stosur never had taken so much as a set off Azarenka in six previous tour meetings, including one match in qualifying. That changed in Tuesday's second set, although forc- ing a third might not have given Stosur all that much self-belief. And in the end, Azarenka improved to 11- 0 in three-setters this sea- son, while Stosur fell to 9- 7. ''I think I'm capable of beating her one day,'' the seventh-seeded Stosur said. ''Just would have liked it to have been today.'' Roddick came out the aggressor, looking for any opportunity to get to the net, and the volley he smacked to end the third game glanced off the 6- foot-6 del Potro's right shoulder. Not much later, Rod- dick nosed ahead, break- ing for a 4-2 lead and shaking his right fist vig- orously when del Potro flubbed a backhand into the net. saving a break point along the way and showing off quite a varied repertoire: an ace, a drop-shot win- ner, a backhand winner down the line and an inside-out forehand pass- ing shot. Roddick held for 5-2, Serving at 5-all in the third, Azarenka faced a break point and responded the best way possible, delivering a 92 mph ace, her only one of the match. Asked about that at her news conference, Azaren- ka's response was telling: ''When did I hit an ace? Did I hit one today, actual- ly?'' Her serve is not exactly her strongest stroke, and Azarenka double-faulted five times, including while ahead 5-3 in the tiebreak- er. The NFL has not yet deter- mined if McClain will be pun- ished by the league but McClain said he is not worried about a possible suspension. ''I don't think I've ever had a talk of anything about a suspen- sion,'' he said. ''I haven't heard it. I guess that's all speculation.'' Seemingly in control, Roddick suddenly slowed, and del Potro finally began showing off the big, flat forehand that carried him past Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final. Del Potro pounded one forehand so hard that Rod- dick shanked an attempted reply off his racket handle, sending the ball into the fourth row of the stands behind him. It was a rough 15 min- utes for the crowd favorite, who five times stood two points from claiming the set, but couldn't get closer. When Roddick served for it at 5- 3, he played a loose game, rolling his eyes after putting one backhand into the net, then sailing an approach shot long and rushing a forehand long. Del Potro broke there and eventually, as drops began to fall, they headed to the tiebreaker. After only one point, an inside-out forehand win- ner by Roddick, chair umpire Carlos Bernardes stepped down to inspect the wet court and declared it unplayable. A few spec- tators booed. Roddick and del Potro sat in their changeover chairs for a few minutes, until being told the delay would be substantial enough that they could wait it out in the locker room. Not much after that, MLB different route, but obviously you can always say that when something doesn't work out,'' Fowler said. ''Just didn't play as well as I would have liked to this summer.'' Love said all the players who didn't make the team han- dled the news well. ''It was tough to leave anybody off,'' he said. ''This is probably the deepest, strongest year of earning points that I have seen. There was a lot of guys that played a lot of really good golf, and you can analyze the number up and down and back and forth. ... There's four great players that we picked that are all playing very well and bring a lot to the team. And it was definitely a tough call for me.'' Indeed, both teams are as stacked as ever. The eight players who qualified three weeks ago for the U.S. team are Woods, Jason Dufner, Masters champion Bubba Watson, U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, Kee- gan Bradley, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickel- son. They have combined to win 12 times this year, includ- ing two majors and a World Golf Championship. It's a far cry from last time, when none of the picks by Corey Pavin was playing particularly well. Never before has the Ryder Cup featured so many of the best players. All 24 players from both teams are among the top 36 in the world; the Ryder Cup will have 13 of the top 15 players. ''To have 24 players of the top 36 is mind-boggling,'' Furyk said. ''As Davis said, really happy with our team. It's really strong, but we have our hands full. There's a strong team on the other side, and we'll have to play them real tough.'' West Division Texas A's American League WL Pct GB 80 55 .593 — 76 58 .567 3.5 Angels 72 63 .533 8 Seattle 66 70 .485 14.5 East Division WL Pct GB Baltimore 76 59 .563 — New York 76 59 .563 — Tampa Bay 75 61 .551 1.5 Boston 62 74 .456 14.5 Toronto 60 75 .444 16 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 73 62 .541 — Detroit 72 63 .533 1 Kansas City61 74 .452 12 Cleveland 58 78 .426 15.5 Minnesota 56 80 .412 17.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday's results Cleveland 3, Detroit 2 Baltimore 12, Toronto 0 Tampa Bay 5, N.Y.Yankees 2 Minnesota 18, Chicago White Sox 9 Kansas City 6, Texas 3 L.A. Angels at Oakland, late Boston at Seattle, late Today's Games Minnesota (Walters 2-2) at Chicago White Sox (Peavy 9-10), 11:10 a.m. L.A. Angels (Haren 9-10) at Oakland (McCarthy 8-5), 12:35 p.m. Cleveland (Jimenez 9-14) at Detroit (Fis- ter 7-8), 4:05 p.m. Baltimore (Mig.Gonzalez 6-3) at Toronto (Morrow 8-5), 4:07 p.m. N.Y.Yankees (Kuroda 12-10) at Tampa Bay (M.Moore 10-8), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Dempster 4-1) at Kansas City (Teaford 1-3), 5:10 p.m. Boston (A.Cook 3-8) at Seattle (Millwood 4-12), 7:10 p.m. Thursday's games N.Y.Yankees at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Texas at Kansas City, 5:10 p.m. word at her news confer- ence to describe the sec- ond fault there, which landed several feet long. That was part of a topsy- turvy tiebreaker, in which Azarenka went ahead 4-0, and Stosur took five of the next six points to make it 5-5. Azarenka used a swear buckled down. ''For sure, she really pushed me to dig deep,'' Azarenka said. On the next point, a Stosur groundstroke clipped the net and went over, and Azarenka had the presence of mind, and soft hands, to respond with a drop-shot winner. That set up match point, which fittingly was a hit- 'em-hard, 10-stroke exchange, until Stosur sailed a backhand long. Azarenka dropped her That's when Azarenka racket, put her hands to her face, then looked sky- ward and said, ''Oh, my God.'' She went to the middle of the court and raised her right index finger overhead — yes, she's No. 1 in the rankings, and she'll stay there for the time being — before blowing kisses to the crowd and throwing a ball into the stands. She said later she was unaware that her victory locked up that top spot, and explained that a U.S. Open trophy would mean a lot more. MLB West Division National League WL Pct GB GIANTS 77 58 .570 — Dodgers 73 63 .537 4.5 Arizona 66 70 .485 11.5 San Diego 62 74 .456 15.5 Colorado 56 78 .418 20.5 East Division WL Pct GB Washington 83 52 .615 — Atlanta 76 60 .559 7.5 Phillies Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 83 54 .606 — St. Louis 74 62 .544 8.5 Pittsburgh 71 64 .526 11 Milwaukee 66 69 .489 16 Chicago 51 84 .378 31 Houston 42 94 .309 40.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday's results Washington 11, Chicago Cubs 5 Pittsburgh 6, Houston 2 Colorado 6, Atlanta 0 Milwaukee 8, Miami 4 Cincinnati 2, Philadelphia 1 St. Louis 5, N.Y.Mets 1 San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, late Arizona at San Francisco, late Today's games Philadelphia (Halladay 8-7) at Cincinnati (Leake 7-8), 9:35 a.m. N.Y. Mets (Dickey 17-4) at St. Louis (Wainwright 13-11), 10:45 a.m. Chicago Cubs (Volstad 2-9) at Washing- ton (G.Gonzalez 17-7), 4:05 p.m. Houston (Abad 0-2) at Pittsburgh (Cor- reia 9-8), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (White 2-7) at Atlanta (Minor 7- 10), 4:10 p.m. Milwaukee (W.Peralta 0-0) at Miami (Eovaldi 4-10), 4:10 p.m. San Diego (Richard 12-12) at L.A. Dodgers (Harang 9-8), 7:10 p.m. Arizona (Cahill 9-11) at San Francisco (Bumgarner 14-9), 7:15 p.m. Thursday's games Colorado at Atlanta, 9:10 a.m. Milwaukee at Miami, 9:40 a.m. Chicago Cubs at Washington, 4:05 p.m. New York 64 72 .471 19.5 Miami 65 71 .478 18.5 60 76 .441 23.5