Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/82453
2B Daily News – Tuesday, September 11, 2012 baugh would love it if his postgame handshake with Detroit coach Jim Schwartz last season was ancient histo- ry 11 months later. If only. Not this week. Not with two unbeaten NFC powers set to face off in prime time Sunday night, when the Lions visit the reigning NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers at Can- dlestick Park. SANTA CLARA (AP) — Jim Har- controversy'' and ''completely irrele- vant,'' eager to keep the focus on the players for both teams. Running back Frank Gore insists that everybody has moved forward, especially after a 30- 22 season-opening victory Sunday at Green Bay. ''Our approach with the mini con- Harbaugh refers to it as a ''mini 49ers not thinking handshake 49ERS After a 25-19 comeback win last Oct. 16 at Ford Field, Harbaugh infuri- ated Schwartz with a firm handshake and backslap. The men had to be sepa- rated as they left the field. ''We're past that. Coach isn't wor- ried about that,'' Gore said Monday, a day after rushing for a crucial 23-yard touchdown with 8:41 remaining against the Packers. troversies are really to give them the attention that they deserve, which isn't much,'' Harbaugh said Monday. ''Peo- ple who will choose to use that to pro- mote this game, or any other game, I think are really missing the point. The game is just so much bigger. As a rule of thumb, I have too much respect for the men who play this game, on both SLAM (Continued from page 1B) Fred Perry won the 1936 U.S. Championships, as the event was known back then. Murray vs. Djokovic was a test of will as much as skill, lasting 4 hours, 54 minutes, tying the record for longest U.S. Open final. The first-set tiebreaker's 22 points set a tournament mark. They repeatedly produced fantas- tic, tales-in-themselves points, lasting 10, 20, 30, even 55 — yes, 55! — strokes, counting the serve. The crowd gave a standing ovation to salute one majes- tic, 30-stroke point in the fourth set that ended with Murray's forehand winner as Djokovic fell to the court, slamming on his left side. By the end, Djokovic — who had won eight consecu- tive five-set matches, includ- ing in the semifinals (against Murray) and final (against Rafael Nadal) at the Aus- tralian Open in January — was the one looking fragile, trying to catch breathers and doing deep knee bends at the baseline to stretch his aching groin muscles. After getting broken to trail 5-2 in the fifth, Djokovic had his legs mas- saged by a trainer. ''I really tried my best,'' As surprising as that moment was, Harbaugh's players got a bit of a thrill seeing their leader become so charged up after a monumental win that put them at 5-1 on the way to a 13-3 record and a run to the NFC championship game. Yet there were the constant hassles sides, and too much respect for the game to give it anything (more) than it deserves.'' wouldn't elaborate Monday on how that's going. ''To put it next to the game itself is missing the point in my opinion,'' Har- baugh said. ''I don't really know that I have any more that I could possibly add to it.'' Schwartz, whose Lions won their opener 27-23 at home against the Rams, said Monday that he and Har- baugh have seen each other several times since that infamous fall day last season. And their handshake greetings went off ''without incident.'' ''That's long in the past,'' Schwartz (Continued from page 1B) momentum in a hostile envi- ronment. ''You know you don't get the opportunity too often, so we went out there and we were like, 'Alright, let's see what we can do,''' Akers said. ''I didn't want to over kick it.'' said. ''That just seems so long ago that that occurred. When two teams take the field, that's not going to be on one play- er's mind.'' of having to answer questions about the incident from friends and family every- where, not to mention from the media. Harbaugh didn't even want to address whether his players were fired up from the handshake. He said after- ward he would work to improve his postgame greetings, though he also atop his white baseball hat and crossed arms resting on his red sweater — in sum, betraying about as much emotion as he ever did dur- ing his playing days. ceremony, Murray joked about Lendl's reaction: ''I think that was almost a smile.'' During the post-match wanted to discuss the topic — even though everybody else certainly will do just that all week. Neither Schwartz nor Harbaugh The highlight reels of the handshake are already rolling. ''I'm not going to go into what we The lack of a Grand Slam title for Murray, and for his country, has been the subject of much conversation and consternation in the United Kingdom, where the first of what would become tennis' top titles was at awarded at Wimbledon in 1877. Djokovic, in contrast, was bidding for his sixth major trophy, fifth in the past two seasons. He had won 27 Grand Slam hard-court matches in a row. adventure. Both players repeatedly needed to adjust mid-swing, contorting their bodies simply to make con- tact. Both let service tosses fall to the ground because the ball would move out of hit- ting range. As the wind wrapped around the chair umpire's microphone, it made a loud, distracting sound that resembled thun- der. Serbia's Djokovic said. No one had blown a two- set lead in the U.S. Open title match since 1949, and Mur- ray was determined not to claim that distinction. When Djokovic sent a forehand long on the final point, Murray crouched and covered his mouth with both hands, as though even he could not believe this moment had actually arrived. The 25-year-old Scot removed his sneakers, gri- macing with each step as he gingerly stepped across the court. Djokovic came around to offer congratulations and a warm embrace, while ''Chariots of Fire'' blared over the Arthur Ashe Stadi- um loudspeakers. Murray was one of only Monday, gusting above 25 mph, and Murray dealt with it much better. Djokovic admitted after his semifinal that he was bothered by heavy wind while falling behind 5-2 in the first set Sat- urday; that's when play was suspended until the next day, the reason the tournament finished on a Monday instead of Sunday for the fifth consecutive year. Mur- ray faced similar conditions in the semifinals, too — when a changeover chair skidded onto the court as he served one point — and joked after that victory that growing up in wind-whipped Scotland helped. two men in the professional era, which began in 1968, to have lost his first four Grand Slam finals — against Djokovic in the 2011 Aus- tralian Open, and against Roger Federer at the 2008 U.S. Open, 2010 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon. The other guy who began 0-4? Ivan Lendl, who just so happens to be Murray's coach nowadays. Murray's forehand is one of the improvements he's made under the tutelage of Lendl, who sat still for much of the match, eyeglasses perched NCAA AP Top 25 Schedule Saturday's games No. 1 Alabama at Arkansas, 12:30 p.m. No. 2 USC at No. 21 Stanford, 4:30 p.m. No. 3 LSU vs. Idaho, 5 p.m. No. 4 Oregon vs. Tennessee Tech, Noon No. 5 Florida State vs.Wake Forest, 9 a.m. No. 7 Georgia vs. Florida A&M, 4:30 p.m. No. 8 South Carolina vs. UAB, 4 p.m. No. 9 West Virginia vs. James Madison at Landover, Md., 1:30 p.m. No.10 Mich.St.vs.No.22 Notre Dame, 5 p.m. No. 11 Clemson vs. Furman, Noon No. 12 Ohio State vs. California, 9 a.m. No. 13 Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m. No. 14 Texas at Mississippi, 6:15 p.m. No. 15 Kansas State vs. North Texas, 4 p.m. No. 16 TCU vs. Kansas, 9 a.m. No. 17 Michigan vs. UMass, 12:30 p.m. No. 18 Florida at No. 23 Tennessee, 3 p.m. No. 19 Louisville vs.N. Carolina, 12:30 p.m. No. 22 UCLA vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m. No.24 Arizona vs.S. Carolina St., 7:30 p.m. No. 25 BYU at Utah, 7 p.m. noteworthy fans in the stands Monday, including a pair of Scots who crashed his news conference after that semifi- nal: actor Sean Connery and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. The last British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, 1977 Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade, also was pre- sent, chatting between games with actor Stanley Tucci. With the air carrying balls and making them dip or dart this way and that, nearly every shot became a bit of an Murray had plenty of NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Jimmie Johnson 3. Tony Stewart 4. Brad Keselowski 5. Greg Biffle 6. Clint Bowyer 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8. Matt Kenseth 9. Kevin Harvick 10. Martin Truex Jr. 11. Kasey Kahne 12. Jeff Gordon 2,012 2,009 2,009 2,009 2,006 2,006 2,003 2,003 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 Chase for the Cup Sep. 16 — GEICO 400, Joliet, Ill. Sep. 23 — Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. Sep. 30 — AAA 400, Dover, Del. Oct. 7 — Good Sam Roadside Assis- tance 500, Talladega, Ala. Oct. 13 — Bank of America 500, Con- cord, N.C. Oct. 21 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan. Oct. 28 — TUMS Fast Relief 500, Ridge- way, Va. Nov. 4 — AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, Texas Nov. 11 — Phoenix 500, Avondale, Ariz. Nov. 18 — Ford EcoBoost 400, Home- stead, Fla. Murray and Djokovic were born a week apart in May 1987, and they've known, and competed against, each other since they were about 11. Before Satur- day's semifinals in New York, they shared a comput- er and sat together to watch online as Scotland and Ser- bia played to a 0-0 draw in a qualifying match for soccer's World Cup. It was windy at the start ror-image breaks in the first two games, and that made sense, given how good both are at returning serve. Two of the best in the game right now, maybe ever. Djokovic crouches low, his back near- ly parallel to the ground, before an opponent serves. Murray shuffles his weight from leg to leg and hops for- ward at the last second to cut off angles. Both worked hard, the physical nature taking a toll. Djokovic's right knee was bloodied after he scraped it during a few tumbles to the court when he lost his foot- ing, and he switched shoes late in the third set. Murray clutched his left thigh while deciding not to chase a lob. There were 10 points of at least 10 strokes each in the first-set tiebreaker, which lasted 25 minutes. Djokovic saved each of Murray's ini- tial five set points, the last with a 123 mph ace to make it 10-all. But Djokovic's backhand flew long at the end of a 21-shot exchange to cede set point No. 6, and this time Murray converted, hit- ting a 117 mph serve that Djokovic couldn't put in the court. Murray turned toward his guest box and bellowed, ''Come on!'' They traded nearly mir- this year's Wimbledon final left Murray in tears, his voice cracking as he told the sup- portive Centre Court crowd, ''I'm getting closer.'' He appeared to be really, really close Monday, after seizing that epic first set and then racing to a 4-0 lead in the second. That loss to Federer in talked about,'' Schwartz said. ''We're making too big a deal of it already.'' When Djokovic held to 5- all, it seemed as though the second set might head to a tiebreaker, too. But with Djokovic serv- ing while trailing 6-5, he was the one who faltered. On a 31-stroke point, Djokovic missed a forehand to make it 15-30. Then Murray's defen- sive skills came into play, as he got one overhead back and forced Djokovic to hit a second, which sailed wide. Chest heaving, Djokovic put his hands on his hips, having a hard time understanding what was happening. Two points later, Djokovic pushed an inside-out forehand wide, giving Murray that set. Even Lendl rose to his feet. Djokovic, though, knows Randy Moss certainly left his mark on the game, too. Moss scored San Francisco's first touchdown early in the second quarter on a 14-yard pass from Smith. He has played some of his best games at Lambeau Field. Even at age 35. Even after a year out of the NFL. Moss, playing in an NFL regular- season game for the first time since Jan. 2, 2011, for Tennessee, added another touchdown to his remarkable list of them in front of the Wisconsin Cheeseheads. Moss has 14 career TDs in the regular season against the Packers and 16 total — nine of those at Lambeau. ''Terrific performance by Randy and all the receivers,'' Harbaugh said. ''Randy was outstanding coming off the ball, good speed, etc.'' Just stepping onto the field, he takes pressure off Gore, and tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. ''I'm happy for Moss, PREP how to fashion a comeback. He's won three times after facing a two-set hole, most recently in the French Open's fourth round this year, and most notably in the U.S. Open's semifinals against Federer last year. After stretching for a backhand volley winner to hold at 1-1 in the third, Djokovic let out a guttural yell and pumped his fists. Across the net, Murray frowned and shook his head. In the very next game, as Murray kept up a monologue of self-admonishment, Djokovic kept up his better- late-than-never charge. He broke for a 2-1 lead, turning on a 126 mph serve with a terrific return. Soon enough, they were headed to a fourth set. was 27-25, 25-22 over Casa Roble. Larissa Vogelbacher had eight digs and Hannah Woodall blocked four shots. Zazueta had six kills. Dublin beat Red Bluff 25-17, 25-13, 15-9. Zazueta had eight kills and nine digs in the loss. Shelby McK- instry had five kills. Emily Gallagher had 15 assists and Brittany Clatty made 13 digs. (Continued from page 1B) Red Bluff's other win Nowto beat Red Bluff 25- 19, 25-21. Clatty had eight kills and three aces in the loss. Jessica Macdonald also had three aces. Zazueta blocked three shots and made seven digs, while Emily Gallagher had 10 assists. own annual tournament this weekend, beginning Friday with pool play. Lady Braves Invitation- Red Bluff (5-7) hosts its al But Djokovic is nothing if not tenacious, and he would not go quietly. Raising his level of play as Murray took a step or two backward, Djokovic broke for 4-1 and then again when Murray served for a two-set lead at 5- 3. That's when Murray made three unforced errors, truly showing some jitters, as though the prospect of such prosperity was a tad over- whelming. WNBA WESTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB x-Minnesota 24 4 .857 — x-Sparks x-San Antonio 17 11 .607 7 x-Seattle Phoenix Tulsa 20 10 .667 5 13 14 .481 10.5 7 21 .250 17 6 22 .214 18 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL Pct GB x-Connecticut 21 8 .724 — x-Indiana Atlanta New York Chicago 19 9 .679 1.5 16 14 .533 5.5 12 17 .414 9 11 17 .393 9.5 Washington 5 24 .172 16 x-clinched playoff spot —————————————————— Monday's results No games scheduled Today's game Seattle at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 5 p.m. Wednesday's games Seattle at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at New York, 4 p.m. San Antonio at Tulsa, 5 p.m. Connecticut at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m. In the fifth set Murray nosed ahead quickly, break- ing for a 1-0 lead when his shot ticked off the net tape, throwing off Djokovic, who missed a backhand then smiled a wry smile of disbe- lief, shaking his head. Mur- ray walked to the changeover chomping on a white towel. It was a 2-0 lead for Mur- ray soon thereafter, as he pounded a 131 mph service winner and then used some terrific defense to stretch a point until Djokovic missed again. Murray broke again to go ahead 3-0 and was on his way. MLB West Division Texas A's Angels Seattle East Division New York Baltimore American League WL Pct GB 83 57 .593 — 79 60 .5683 1/2 77 63 .550 6 67 74 .47516 1/2 WL Pct GB 79 61 .564 — 78 62 .557 1 Tampa Bay 77 63 .550 2 Toronto Boston Central Division Chicago Detroit 64 75 .460 14.5 63 78 .447 16.5 WL Pct GB 76 64 .543 — 73 67 .521 3 Kansas City 63 77 .450 13 Cleveland 59 82 .418 17.5 Minnesota 59 82 .418 17.5 —————————————————— Monday's results Oakland at L.A. Angels, late Chicago White Sox 6, Detroit 1 Minnesota 7, Cleveland 2 Today's games Oakland (Straily 1-0) at L.A. Angels (Williams 6-7), 7:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (M.Moore 10-9) at Baltimore (Mig.Gonzalez 6-4), 4:05 p.m. Seattle (Er.Ramirez 0-2) at Toronto (Morrow 8-5), 4:07 p.m. N.Y.Yankees (Kuroda 13-10) at Boston (Lester 9-11), 4:10 p.m. Cleveland (U.Jimenez 9-15) at Texas (M.Harrison 15-9), 5:05 p.m. Detroit (Fister 8-8) at Chicago (Peavy 10-10), 5:10 p.m. Kansas City (W.Smith 4-7) at Minnesota (Diamond 11-6), 5:10 p.m. Wednesday's games Oakland at L.A. Angels, 7:05 p.m. Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Seattle at Toronto, 4:07 p.m. N.Y.Yankees at Boston, 4:10 p.m. Cleveland at Texas, 5:05 p.m. Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 5:10 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 5:10 p.m. Corning and Mercy both competed in Hamilton at the Lady Braves Invitational. The Lady Warriors went Mercy picked up a 25-9, 25-16 win over Live Oak. Ella Fleet had eight aces and five kills. Kayce Kemp had five aces and 10 assists. Maddy Coelho had three aces and Breanna Kemp made eight digs. Mercy's other win came against Liberty Christian on 2-2. MLB West Division GIANTS Dodgers Arizona Padres Colorado East Division Washington 87 54 .617 — Atlanta Central Division Philadelphia 70 71 .496 17 New York Miami Cincinnati 84 57 .596 — St. Louis WL Pct GB 81 60 .574 6 65 76 .461 22 63 79 .444 24.5 WL Pct GB 75 65 .536 8.5 Pittsburgh 72 67 .518 11 Milwaukee 69 71 .493 14.5 Chicago Houston 54 86 .386 29.5 44 96 .314 39.5 —————————————————— Monday's results San Francisco at Colorado, late Philadelphia 3, Miami 1 Washington 5, N.Y. Mets 1 Atlanta at Milwaukee, late Chicago Cubs at Houston, late Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, late St. Louis at San Diego, late Today's games San Francisco (Bumgarner 14-10) at Colorado (Chacin 2-5), 5:40 p.m. Miami (Eovaldi 4-11) at Philadelphia (Halladay 9-7), 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Correia 10-8) at Cincinnati (Leake 7-9), 4:10 p.m. Washington (Zimmermann 10-8) at N.Y. Mets (Dickey 18-4), 4:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Germano 2-6) at Houston (Lyles 3-11), 5:05 p.m. Atlanta (T.Hudson 14-5) at Milwaukee (Estrada 2-6), 5:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 12-8) at Arizona (I.Kennedy 12-11), 6:40 p.m. St. Louis (Wainwright 13-12) at San Diego (Volquez 9-10), 7:05 p.m. Wednesday's games San Francisco at Colorado, 5:40 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 1:05 p.m. St. Louis at San Diego, 3:35 p.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Houston, 5:05 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 6:40 p.m. National League WL Pct GB 79 61 .564 — 74 67 .525 5.5 69 72 .489 10.5 66 75 .468 13.5 56 83 .403 22.5 keep going, keep working,'' Gore said, ''try to get better and try to get a victory this week.'' our team out a lot.'' Moss was hardly the only one earning praise from the coach Monday, when play- ers had the day off before returning to work Tuesday to prepare for another key NFC matchup: against the 1-0 Detroit Lions in prime time Sunday night at Candlestick Park. ''Just got to start back, A balanced offense is what the 49ers are hoping for every Sunday, with Gore leading the way in the run- ning game and a more wide- open passing game with Moss and Michael Crabtree, Davis and Walker. It sure worked Sunday. Upgrading the receiving corps was a top priority this offseason after the unit managed only one catch for three yards in a 20- 17 overtime loss in the NFC title game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants. ''We came into it with a will-to-win attitude,'' Davis said. ''As you can see, we ran the ball, we passed when we needed to and we made the plays — made it happen.'' Harbaugh said he's a ''big first game to get a touch- down,'' Gore said. ''He helps believer'' in the strides a team can make between the first and second games, and that's a focus moving ahead with this week's preparations for Detroit. Saturday. The Lady Warriors won 25-21, 18-25, 18-16. Gridley beat Mercy 25- 20, 25-16. Breanna Kemp had eight kills and Fleet 10 digs in the loss. Gridely Mercy a second time on Saturday 24-26, 25- 19, 15-8. son. Mercy is 4-2 on the sea- Corning picked up its first win of the season beating Quincy 25-10, 25-10. Gridley beat the Lady Cardinals 25-22, 25-14 and Hamilton beat them 25-10, 25-18. Corning is 1-5 and hosts Enterprise 7:30 tonight. NFL AFC West WL T Pct Denver 1 0 0 1.000 RAIDERS 000 .000 Chargers 0 0 0 .000 Kansas City 0 1 0 .000 East WL T Pct N.Y. Jets 1 0 0 1.000 N. England 1 0 0 1.000 Miami 0 1 0 .000 Buffalo 0 1 0 .000 South WL T Pct Houston 1 0 0 1.000 Jacksonville 0 1 0 .000 Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000 Tennessee 0 1 0 .000 North WL T Pct Baltimore 1 0 0 1.000 Cincinnati 0 1 0 .000 Cleveland 0 1 0 .000 Pittsburgh 0 1 0 .000 NFC West WL T Pct Arizona 1 0 0 1.000 49ERS 100 1.000 St. Louis 0 1 0 .000 Seattle 0 1 0 .000 East Dallas WL T Pct 1 0 0 1.000 Washington 1 0 0 1.000 Philadelphia 1 0 0 1.000 N.Y. Giants 0 1 0 .000 South WL T Pct Tampa Bay 1 0 0 1.000 Atlanta 1 0 0 1.000 N. Orleans 0 1 0 .000 Carolina 0 1 0 .000 North WL T Pct Detroit 1 0 0 1.000 Chicago 1 0 0 1.000 Minnesota 1 0 0 1.000 Green Bay 0 1 0 .000 —————————————————— Week 1 results Wednesday's result Dallas 24, N.Y. Giants 17 Sunday's results San Francisco 30, Green Bay 22 Arizona 20, Seattle 16 Atlanta 40, Kansas City 24 Chicago 41, Indianapolis 21 Denver 31, Pittsburgh 19 Detroit 27, St. Louis 23 Houston 30, Miami 10 Minnesota 26, Jacksonville 23, OT New England 34, Tennessee 13 N.Y. Jets 48, Buffalo 28 Philadelphia 17, Cleveland 16 Tampa Bay 16, Carolina 10 Washington 40, New Orleans 32 Monday's results San Diego at Oakland, late Baltimore 44, Cincinnati 13 Week 2 schedule Thursday's game Chicago at Green Bay, 5:20 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Miami, 10 a.m. Detroit at San Francisco, 5:20 p.m. Arizona at New England, 10 a.m. Baltimore at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Houston at Jacksonville, 10 a.m. Kansas City at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Carolina, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Dallas at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Washington at St. Louis, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 1:25 p.m. Tennessee at San Diego, 1:25 p.m. Monday's game Denver at Atlanta, 5:30 p.m.