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2B Daily News – Thursday, October 25, 2012 lific as he's been in his career, Oakland's Carson Palmer is on an unparalleled pace for him. Palmer is on track to join 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon as the only quarterbacks in franchise history to eclipse the 4,600-yard mark in a single season. Gannon passed for 4,689 yards during the '02 season when he led Oakland to its first Super Bowl appear- ance in nearly two decades. That would be quite an accomplishment for Palmer con- sidering the Raiders receiving corps has been banged up since training camp. Oakland has also had issues with pass protection and the running game, making it easier for defenses to concen- trate on Palmer. It's also something he'd almost rather not see happen. ''Yeah, because we want to run the football,'' Palmer said Wednesday. ''That's what we talk about, that's what we work on. The better you run the foot- ball, those yards might go up and the pass attempts go down.'' Palmer said the Raiders would be better off being more bal- anced offensively. That's not happened so far. Not even close. Palmer wants Raiders to be more balanced ALAMEDA (AP) — As pro- ''I don't have a crystal ball, but the more you run the football the more defenses have to focus on it. That's when you get your opportu- nity to really throw the ball down the field on the nakeds and the keepers and those long play-actions.'' — Carson Palmer thrown for 1,732 yards — 11th in the NFL — and has his highest passer rating (86.0) since 2007, the numbers haven't translated into many wins. Greg Knapp but the Raiders also added a handful of the gap- blocking plays that running back Darren McFadden had success running in 2011. The results con- tinue to be mostly disappointing. Even though Palmer has off a 26-23 overtime victory against lowly Jacksonville, a game in which Oakland's offense was dreadful before Palmer led four scoring drives after half- time. The Raiders (2-4) are coming Oakland has been held to 120 yards rushing or fewer in five of the first six games of the season. Much has been made about the zone blocking schemes imple- mented by offensive coordinator GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) well tonight. It's that simple,'' he said. year, Jackson accomplished the feat in 1977 and Ruth did it in 1926 and again in 1928. For good measure, Sandoval lined a single his last time up. He donated the bat he used for the first two homers to the Hall of Fame — no need for it anymore, he broke on the backswing of his second shot. Sandoval is one of a record nine Pujols homered three times last Venezuelans on the Series rosters, and his power performance attracted attention way beyond the ballpark. ''There goes the third! Pablo It was the second time this season Palmer, 32, rallied the Raiders after they trailed heading into the fourth quarter. That's one of the reasons Oak- land coach Dennis Allen isn't making too big a deal about Palmer's passing numbers. ''I want to win, whatever it takes to win football games,'' Allen said. ''If it's throwing it 50 times a game, we'll do that. If it's running it 50 times a game, bounces, with Pagan hitting a double that hopped off the third-base bag. ALCS MVP Delmon Young, mean- while, failed to run after a tapper in front of the plate that the Giants turned into a double play. makes history,'' Venezuelan Presi- dent Hugo Chavez tweeted in Span- ish. Left off the 2010 World Series roster by the champion Giants, Zito shut out the Tigers until Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera hit an RBI single in the sixth. The Giants won for the 14th straight time with Zito starting. ''Just the opportunity alone was first time since 2008, Verlander scuffed at the rubber while warming up for the first inning, pulled off his glove after badly overthrowing a curve and kept taking deep breaths. He hardly resembled the guy who was 3-0 with an 0.74 ERA in three playoff starts this year. Ever since two poor outings in the 2006 Series against St. Louis — punctuated by two throwing errors — Verlander has worked hard to har- ness his emotions and 100 mph heat in the early going. Verlander was trying to settle in when Sandoval tagged him, pounc- ing on an 0-2 fastball and lining it into the front row over the center- field wall. Quite a start for the team that finished last in the majors in home runs. Pitching in San Francisco for the we'll do that. Whatever the game dictates for us to have a chance at winning the football game, that's what we're going to do.'' Overall, the Raiders rank ninth in passing and 31st in rush- ing heading into Sunday's game in Kansas City. improve Oakland's passing game even if it meant fewer throws by Palmer. ''I don't have a crystal ball, A more balanced attack would 'not going to be reality' NEW YORK (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says it looks like a full-82 game schedule ''is not going to be a reality,'' as the lockout nears its seventh week. Speaking at a news conference Wednesday announcing Bettman says full season the New York Islanders' move from Nassau Coliseum to Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2015, Bettman seemed resigned to looking at a shortened season with the NHL and the players' association still at odds after months of negotia- tions. but the more you run the football the more defenses have to focus on it,'' Palmer said. ''That's when you get your opportunity to really throw the ball down the field on the nakeds and the keep- ers and those long play-actions.'' Notes: DE Matt Shaughnessy was held out of the final portion of practice after injuring his shoulder. His status for Sunday's game is uncertain.WR Juron Criner (hip) and S Mike Mitchell (ankle) were also hurt during the workout. ... RT Khalif Barnes (groin) and CB Shawntae Spencer (foot) did not practice. To some, this looked somewhat similar to the 2010 Series opener. That day, the Giants beat up the sup- posedly unhittable Cliff Lee on their way to a five-game romp over Texas. Tigers: Former closer Jose Valverde made his first appearance in 11 days. Leyland still isn't sure what he'll get from the struggling reliever. This is how bad it got for the seven straight batters and struck out five of them. The two-time Cy Young winner has embraced his new role in the bullpen. Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer for the Tigers in the ninth off mop-up reliever George Kontos. mind-blowing. Me and my wife were dancing around when I heard,'' Zito said of getting the Game 1 start. ''And then the boys came out swing- ing and played great defense.'' NL championship series MVP Marco Scutaro hit RBI singles after doubles by Angel Pagan. NL batting champion Buster Posey contributed two hits, left fielder Gregor Blanco made diving catches to rob Cabrera and Prince Fielder, and Tim Lince- cum came out of the bullpen to pre- vent further damage. Game 2 is Thursday night, with Doug Fister starting for the Tigers against Madison Bumgarner. The Giants kept getting good KINGS (Continued from page 1B) men but still has trouble controlling his emo- tions. Tyreke Evans, the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year, stayed healthy last season but struggled in his move from point to guard to wingman. And former BYU sensa- tion Jimmer Fredette had a mostly disappoint- ing debut trying to play in a structured system but has vowed to be more aggressive his sec- ond time around. Standout point guard Isaiah Thomas is back after a sensational rook- ie season. The Kings also added free agent guard Aaron Brooks and fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson, the former Kansas forward and first unanimous first-team All-American since Blake Griffin, to mix with veterans such as Chuck Hayes and Francisco Garcia. ''We're out there try- Get this: It was the first three- homer game at the stadium original- ly known as Pac Bell Park since the very first one, when Kevin Elster did it for the Dodgers in 2000. Nope, not even home run king Barry Bonds had done this. It was certainly a moment of ret- ribution of Sandoval. He was benched during the 2010 World Series, his production and confi- dence down, his weight up. In the stands on this night, fans wearing furry panda hats celebrated with him. Verlander got into trouble again the third, and pitching coach Jeff Jones strolled to the mound when the count went to 2-0 on Sandoval. Ver- lander stared at Jones and shook his head. On the next pitch, Verlander could do little but watch the ball sail into the front row in left. ing to prove so much,'' Cousins said. over summer workouts, including a week in July when about 10 came to Sacramento, and during the first week of training camp, which Smart moved to Colorado Springs. In particular, Cousins and Evans — who practiced in the gym at such late hours Smart called him the ''cat burglar'' — were working out in Sacra- mento most of the off- season. Players also bonded a first step,'' Evans said, ''for us to start playing together knowing we've all got to be on the same page this year.'' ''I think that was just NOTES: Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings was the only other player this year to homer twice in a game off Verlander. ... Willie Mays and fellow Giants Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry took part in the first- ball ceremony. ... Tigers great Al Kaline, now a team executive, watched Detroit take batting practice from behind the cage. ... The Game 1 winner has won eight of the last nine championships. ... Cabrera and Posey marked the first set of batting champs to face each other in the World Series since 1954 when it was Mays of the New York Giants and Bobby Avila of Cleveland. When Cabrera walked on a close full-count pitch, he playfully patted the Giants' All-Star catcher on his way to first base. ... Tigers bullpen catcher Jeff Kunkel wandered the stands well before the teams took the field for warmups, snapping pictures of the stadium and field with his cell phone. ... The Giants franchise played its 106th Series game, trailing only the Yankees (225) and Cardinals (112). The Dodgers are fourth with 105. trumpeted and the City Council approved. The Maloofs have said the deal, signed off on by NBA Commissioner David Stern, didn't make financial sense for the franchise. No other plan has been in the works between Sacramento and the Maloofs, which will again open the possibili- ty of relocation if noth- ing develops by early 2013, not to mention lead to endless specula- tion from Anaheim to Seattle to Virginia Beach — and every- where in between — about luring the fran- chise. No matter what suc- cess might come Sacra- mento's way this season, the franchise's future is still murkier than ever. Gavin Maloof backed out of an arena deal in April that Sacramento Mayor and former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson Kings owners Joe and There also appears to be no long-term deal in the works for Evans, who is eligible for an extension with Sacra- mento until Oct. 30, after which time he will become a free agent next summer. Kings Presi- dent of Basketball Oper- ations Geoff Petrie also is in the final year of his contract. With so many possi- ble distractions, Smart has long preached to his players not to worry about the things they can't control. ''You want them to focus on just the team in the moment,'' Lincecum, meanwhile, retired Bettman stated, in making the NHL's most recent offer, that a deal needed to be in place by Thursday for the season to begin on Nov. 2 and allow for each team to play a full 82- game slate. With no negotiations scheduled, reaching a deal in one day appears very unlikely. ''The fact of the matter is there are just sometimes that you need to take time off because it's clear that you can't do anything to move the process forward,'' Bettman said. ''We're at one of those points right now because we gave our very best offer. That offer, for better or for worse, was con- tingent on playing an 82-game season. So I think things actu- ally in some respects may get more difficult.'' The players' association reached out to the NHL on Tues- day night in an attempt to set up a face-to-face bargaining session on Wednesday, but the league declined. The NHL's position is if the union isn't willing to talk about the league's offer that is on the table and isn't prepared to make a new proposal of its own riffing off that offer, there is no reason to talk. ''There seems to be no interest in making any sort of deal along the lines of what we have expressed a desire and a need for,'' Bettman said. GS (Continued from page 1B) while with Milwaukee and missed the rest of the season. He came to Golden State in a trade for guard Monta Ellis, among others. Bogut had hoped to return for the sea- son opener, but the team has not set any deadline, and even if the 7-footer from Australia played it likely won't be for extended min- utes. ''It is frustrating and it does play on me a little bit. But at the same time, I look back at the injuries that I've had and that could happen to anybody,'' said Bogut, the 2005 No. 1 overall pick. ''I can't control landing on somebody's foot, and I can't control coming off the rim.'' if healthy, has solid support around it. The Bogut-Curry combo, Power forward David Lee, who has averaged close to a double-double most of his career, will start along second-year shooting guard Klay Thompson and either Brandon Rush or seventh overall pick Harrison Barnes of North Carolina at small forward. Golden State is deeper than in recent years, too, with Jarrett Jack, Carl Landry and Richard Jeffer- son complementing rookies Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli, who both impressed enough during the preseason to be considered rotation players. Jackson has had more time to prepare this season than last, when the labor lockout eliminated most of the offseason and training camp and limited practices during the crammed 66- game schedule. Injuries also decimated the roster, which has been quickly recon- structed under Myers, and that has all involved more optimistic than anything after going 23-43 last season. ''There's a lot of excite- ment in here,'' said Curry, who expects to start opening night. ''The roster is deeper MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA said. ''They don't have anyone else out here they have to focus with. They have to focus on just the team.'' NCAA AP Top 25 Schedule Today's game No. 14 Clemson at Wake Forest, 4:30 p.m. Friday's game No. 16 Louisville vs. Cincinnati, 5 p.m. Saturday's games No. 1 Alabama vs.No. 13 Miss. St., 5:30 p.m. No. 2 Oregon vs. Colorado, Noon No. 3 Florida vs. No. 12 Georgia at Jacksonville, Fla., 12:30 p.m. No.4 Kan.St.vs.No.15 Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m. No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. No. 7 Oregon State at Washington, 7:15 p.m. No. 9 Ohio State at Penn State, 2:30 p.m. No. 10 USC at Arizona, 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Florida State vs. Duke, 12:30 p.m. No. 17 South Carolina vs.Tennessee, 9 a.m. No. 18 Rutgers vs. Kent State, 12:30 p.m. No. 19 Stanford vs.Washington St., 3:15 p.m. No. 20 Michigan at Nebraska, 5 p.m. No. 21 Boise State at Wyoming, 12:30 p.m. No. 22 Texas A&M at Auburn, 4 p.m. No. 23 Ohio at Miami (Ohio), 12:30 p.m. Smart y-QUAKES 19 6 8 65 71 42 x-Seattle 15 7 11 56 51 32 x-Salt Lake 17 11 5 56 46 35 x-Galaxy 15 12 6 51 58 47 x-Vancouver11 13 9 42 35 41 FC Dallas 9 13 11 38 40 45 Colorado 10 19 4 34 42 50 Portland 8 16 9 33 33 55 Chivas USA 7 18 8 29 22 56 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-Kan. City 18 7 9 63 42 27 x-D.C. 17 10 6 57 52 42 x-Chicago 17 11 5 56 45 40 x-New York 15 9 9 54 54 46 x-Houston 14 8 11 53 48 39 Columbus 14 12 7 49 42 43 Montreal 12 15 6 42 45 50 Philadelphia10 17 6 36 37 42 N. England 8 17 8 32 38 44 Toronto FC 5 20 8 23 35 60 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth y- clinched conference —————————————————— Wednesday's result Sporting Kansas City 2, Philadelphia 1 Saturday's games San Jose at Portland, 3:30 p.m. New York at Philadelphia, 10:30 a.m. New England at Montreal, 11 a.m. D.C. United at Chicago, 1 p.m. Houston at Colorado, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. Sunday's games Toronto FC at Columbus, 1 p.m. Chivas USA at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. Seattle FC at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. and we have a little bit more experience than we did last year. Hopefully we can get the season off on the right foot.'' The fear is still health. Myers often flips to his phone for inspirational quotes to keep him focused and motivated. He admits he thinks about his stars' sturdi- ness ''often,'' then thinks backs to one of his favorite phrases by writer Ralph Waldo Emerson that starts: ''Don't waste life in doubts and fears.'' Jackson always has tried to concentrate more on the players who are healthy than the ones who aren't. But looking at his roster, he also knows Curry and Bogut are the key to Golden State's success — and perhaps his own future. Jackson said the reason he made the bold playoff prediction when he was hired last year was to ''change the culture'' of a losing franchise that, despite only making the playoffs once since 1994, is consis- tently among the NBA's top- 10 in attendance and whose fans are among the most vocal in the sports saturated Bay Area. He said the team's mindset has changed and there is no need for words anymore. ''Ultimately it comes to a point where, enough of the talking,'' Jackson said. ''Go out and do it.'' NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 3 3 0 .500 170 138 Chargers 3 3 0 .500 148 137 RAIDERS 24 0 .333 113 171 Kansas City 1 5 0 .167 104 183 East N. England 4 3 0 .571 217 163 Miami WL T Pct PF PA Houston 6 1 0 .857 216 128 Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 117 158 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 149 238 Jacksonville 1 5 0 .167 88 164 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 5 2 0 .714 174 161 Pittsburgh 3 3 0 .500 140 132 Cincinnati 3 4 0 .429 166 187 Cleveland 1 6 0 .143 147 180 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA 49ERS 52 0 .714 165 100 Arizona 4 3 0 .571 124 118 Seattle 4 3 0 .571 116 106 St. Louis 3 4 0 .429 130 141 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 5 2 0 .714 205 137 Philadelphia 3 3 0 .500 103 125 Dallas 3 3 0 .500 113 133 Washington 3 4 0 .429 201 200 South WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 6 0 0 1.000171 113 N. Orleans 2 4 0 .333 176 182 Tampa Bay 2 4 0 .333 148 136 Carolina 1 5 0 .167 106 144 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 5 1 0 .833 162 78 Minnesota 5 2 0 .714 167 131 Green Bay 4 3 0 .571 184 155 Detroit Week 8 schedule Today's game Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5:20 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Carolina at Chicago, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Miami at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. New England vs. St. Louis at London, 10 a.m. San Diego at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Seattle at Detroit, 10 a.m. Washington at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at Denver, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game San Francisco at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. Open: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston 2 4 0 .333 133 150 —————————————————— WL T Pct PF PA 3 3 0 .500 120 117 N.Y. Jets 3 4 0 .429 159 170 Buffalo 3 4 0 .429 171 227 South