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2B Daily News – Friday, November 9, 2012 RAIDERS Hamstring keeps pro-bowler Seymore on the sideline Trying to stop Baltimore running back Ray Rice was already a monumental task facing the Oak- land Raiders this week. Doing it without seven-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Sey- mour will make the challenge even more daunting. Seymour missed his second straight practice Thursday due to a lingering hamstring injury and is questionable to play in Balti- more on Sunday. The 12th-year veteran was already on a light practice schedule as a result of his troublesome knees. Neither Seymour nor Raiders coach Dennis Allen sounded too optimistic about the prospects of the 33-year-old defender playing against the Ravens. ''I don't know, I'm not sure,'' ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Seymour said. ''Hammies are tough. I've had them throughout my career. The only thing you can do is work hard. When it's ready I'll be back.'' Raiders would be forced to use a patchwork lineup that also has some health issues. Backup defensive tackle Desmond Bryant was pulled out of last week's loss to Tampa Bay with an irregular heartbeat, while defensive ends Matt Shaugh- nessy and Dave Tollefson are nursing sore shoulders. The Raiders need all the healthy bodies they can find if they are to have any hope of slowing down Rice, a two-time Pro Bowl running back who is fifth in the AFC in rushing with 622 yards and six touchdowns. It doesn't help that Oakland is coming off its worst showing of the season after allowing Tampa Bay rookie Doug Martin to rush for four touchdowns and a fran- chise record 251 yards. Raiders breakdowns have come in basic technique and funda- mentals. He noted that players were in position to stop Martin numerous times but failed to bring the rookie running back down. ''We have to tackle better,'' Tarver said. ''We had two games where we didn't. We have to know where our help is and tack- le better.'' There will be even more pres- sure on the Raiders defense this week. Running backs Darren take an overly cautious approach at times with some of his injured players but the rookie head coach made it clear that's not the case with Seymour. ''He couldn't practice today if he had to,'' Allen said flatly. ''We'll see where he is tomor- row.'' Allen has had a tendency to If Seymour can't play, the NHL LOCKOUT Before that game the Raiders had done fairly well against the run. But the loss to the Bucs exposed several problems, most of them tackling. Allen made that an emphasis in practice this week and put the players through a padded prac- tice Wednesday in hopes of improving their tackling tech- niques after Martin gained 197 of his yards before getting hit. ''It's just focusing in,'' Sey- mour said. Defensive coordinator Jason Tarver said the majority of the McFadden and Mike Goodson are both in walking boots, leav- ing seldom-used Taiwan Jones and fullback Marcel Reece to split the reps in practice with the first team offense. Oakland is also trying to sort out who its right tackle will be. Khalif Barnes, who began the season as the starter, returned to practice this week after missing six games with a groin injury. He's been splitting time in prac- tice with backup Willie Smith and rookie Tony Bergstrom. ''Obviously, I've got some kinks to get out,'' Barnes said. ''I've just been out there on the field trying to test the water. I don't know anything about play- ing.'' NHL, union to meet today for 4th straight day NEW YORK (AP) — The best that can be said about the ongoing NHL labor negotiations is that they are still going, and will continue for at least a fourth straight day. The league and the locked-out players' association got back together Thursday and accomplished enough over five-plus hours to make plans to meet again Friday. ''I am not going to discuss the negotiations or the sub- stance of what we're talking about,'' NHL Commission- er Gary Bettman said Thursday on a wind-blown street corner. ''I really don't think that would be helpful to the process. ''We have work to do, and my hope is that we can didn't rule out talks stretching into the weekend, too. ''All I can tell you is we have been meeting, and we will be meeting again (Friday),'' he said. ''I can't say more than that. We haven't talked about (the weekend), but if there is something to talk about then I expect we will be.'' in the latest long round of discussions at a Manhattan law firm — the location of the negotiations that had been kept secret until Thursday. ''I am not going to characterize it except to say, as I achieve the goal of getting a long-term, fair agreement in place as quickly as possible so we can play hockey.'' Players' association executive director Donald Fehr have before, that its always better when you're meeting than when you're not,'' he said. Thursday's discussions marked the fourth time in six days that face-to-face negotiations have taken place after both sides rejected proposals Oct. 18. The lockout, which began Sept. 16 after the collective bargaining agreement expired, has forced the cancellation of 327 regular-season games, including the New Year's Day Winter Classic in Michigan. It was unclear if the NHL made counterproposals to offers it received from the union on Wednesday. The belief is that the players' association has agreed to a 50- 50 split of hockey-related revenues, but that even divi- sion wouldn't kick in until the third year of the deal. ''Collective bargaining is a process, and it has peaks The lockout reached its 54th day, and this week is considered critical for the season to be saved. The work stoppage is threatening to force the second cancellation of an NHL season in seven years. Even if an agreement is reached soon, it isn't clear if MLB Boras: Dodgers 'bought store' record revenue as the signing season starts, Scott Boras compares the habits of teams to families sifting through supermarket shelves. At the winter meetings in Dallas last year, the agent had this to say of the financially troubled Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets: ''Normally, they're in the steaks section, and I found them in the fruits-and-nuts category a lot.'' INDIAN WELLS (AP) — With baseball awash in Since then, the Dodgers have been sold for $2 bil- lion. The Mets owners have agreed to pay up to $162 million — and likely much less — in a deal with the trustee for Bernard Madoff's fraud victims. So on Wednesday at the general managers' meeting, Boras said his view of the Dodgers had changed. ''I think they bought the store,'' he said. And as for the Mets? ''The best you can say is that they might be in the freezer section,'' he explained. ''But there's a lot of good, longstanding products that they can acquire there.'' Slugger Josh Hamilton and pitcher Zack Greinke are among the top players in a relatively weak free-agent class that also includes outfielders B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, Torii Hunter and Nick Swisher; first baseman Adam LaRoche; and pitchers Kyle Lohse and Rafael Soriano. Baseball estimates revenue this year at $2.5 billion — an increase of about $500 million. National televi- sion contracts with Fox and Turner that run from 2014- 21 will double the average yearly money baseball receives to about $800 million. And perhaps the biggest evidence of baseball's wealth is franchise values — the Dodgers sold for $2 billion this year in a bankruptcy court auction and the lowly San Diego Padres were bought for $800 million. ''So now we've had owners that have become instant billionaires. They've made over a billion dollars by this reevaluation,'' Boras said. ''I don't think we need Forbes anymore to tell us what franchises are worth because we had a bankruptcy court judge say this is open season, come tell me what this is all worth, and I think we got a proper accounting. Franchise values are through the roof because interestingly enough, we know what a near-top team is worth and we know what a near-bottom-value team on the market is worth by what's gone in the past three or four month. So I think there's a lot of smiling faces for people who invested in this industry in the early 2000s.'' PLAYOFF (Continued from page 1B) group of receivers in Wyatt Houghtby, Christ- ian Jordan and Mitch Fox that's netted him 12 touchdowns this season. Jordan, for his part, any of this season's games that have been called off through Nov. 30 can be rescheduled. The NHL has already said a full 82-game season won't be played. ''Every day that passes, I think, is critical for the game and for our fans,'' Bettman said. During a second consecutive day of marathon negoti- ations Wednesday, the players' association made an offer on revenue sharing, in which richer teams would help out poorer organizations, and another proposal regarding the ''make-whole'' provision that would guarantee full payment of all existing multiyear player contracts. ''There have been discussions over a wide range of and valleys and ebbs and flows,'' Bettman said. ''It is very tough to handicap.'' It was also difficult for the NHL and the union to keep the location of the talks hidden. On Thursday it was revealed that negotiations were being conducted at the law offices of Proskauer Rose — the firm of NHL lead counsel Bob Batterman. Revenue sharing and the make-whole provision are major hurdles in the way of making a deal. On Wednes- day, the sides spent more than five hours dealing with the most contentious areas. Coupled with the more than seven hours they spent negotiating Tuesday, owners and players were together about 13 hours this week before reconvening Thursday. topics,'' Fehr said, while occupying the same location on the street that Bettman did. ''We're recessed for the night and we will be getting back together tomorrow. I am not going to comment in the substance of the discussions.'' Fehr also declined to say if he felt progress was made 49ERS (Continued from page 1B) the first time two days later. The 49ers will com- plete a run of three con- secutive games against their West rivals when they face the Rams, who are well aware of Smith's progress: He had two of his best games last season in wins over St. Louis. ''You have a quarter- back that is playing great football,'' Rams linebacker James Lauri- naitis said. ''When you look at the Niners, they definitely have a guy who can carry them when needed. I think Alex Smith has proved that.'' sified their offense this season, adding veteran receivers Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to the mix. Smith's ver- The 49ers have diver- satility allows offensive coordinator Greg Roman a lot of flexibility when determining how to come at opponents. been striving for balance against opponents that key on three-time Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore and the power rushing attack the offense revolves around. San Francisco has ''We present a lot,'' said Smith, who has completions to 11 dif- ferent players this sea- son and also has rushed for 129 yards. ''I love getting everybody involved, that's for sure. I feel like we're not pre- dictable. I don't feel like (opponents) are out there knowing what we're doing. We do a lot. We run all the schemes that are there, and it's fun.'' and efficiency also have helped in San Francis- co's climb to 13th in the Smith's consistency differences to reach a deal that will allow the already delayed and shortened season to begin. Along with a handful of team owners, eight players attended Wednesday's talks, five fewer than Tuesday. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and others left New York to try to avoid the impending snowstorm that hit the area, the union said. On Thursday, seven players were in attendance, according to the NHLPA, and at least three owners. There is clearly still much to be done to work out the NFL rankings for total offense this week after finishing 26th in that category last season. And now, his name is being mentioned next to Joe Montana and Steve Young, the Hall of Famers who preceded Smith as San Francis- co's quarterback. If Smith's midseason numbers hold until the end of the year, his com- pletion percentage would rank third in team history behind only Young (70.3 in 1994) and Montana (70.2 in 1989). Smith also could join Young and Montana as the only 49ers to post NASCAR Sprint Cup Points Leaders 1. Jimmie Johnson 2,339 2. Brad Keselowski 2,332 3. Clint Bowyer 4. Kasey Kahne 5. Matt Kenseth 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Denny Hamlin 8. Tony Stewart 9. Martin Truex Jr. 10. Greg Biffle 11. Kevin Harvick 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,188 2,303 2,281 2,267 2,267 2,266 2,259 2,259 2,256 2,238 a quarterback rating of 100.0 or better in a sea- son. MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE Semifinals San Jose vs. Los Angeles Sunday: San Jose 1, Los Angeles 0 Wednesday, Nov. 7: Los Angeles 3, San Jose 1, Los Angeles advances 3-2 Seattle vs. Real Salt Lake Friday: Real Salt Lake 0, Seattle 0 Thursday's result: Seattle 1, Real Salt Lake 0, Seattle advances on 1-0 aggre- gate Championship Sunday or Monday: Los Angeles vs. Seat- tle, 5 or 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18: Los Angeles vs. Seattle, 6 p.m. EASTERN CONFERENCE Semifinals D.C. United vs. New York Saturday: New York 1, D.C. United 1 Wednesday's result: D.C. United at New York, 8 p.m., ppd., snow Thursday's result: D.C. United 1, New York 0, D.C. United advances on 2-1 aggregate Kansas City vs. Houston Sunday: Houston 2, Kansas City 0 Wednesday's result: Kansas City 1, Houston 0, Houston wins series 2-1 goal aggregate Championship Sunday: Houston vs. D.C. United, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17 or Sunday, Nov. 18: Houston vs. D.C. United, TBD isn't ready for the his season to end just yet. "We're starting to count down practices, count down the games," he said. "You start to realize that it's coming close. But we want to keep it going, keep it swinging." confident and knows what it's going up against with Foothill. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific WL Pct GB WARRIORS 32 .600 — L.A. Clippers 3 2 .600 — KINGS Phoenix 23 .400 1 2 3 .400 1 L.A. Lakers 1 4 .200 2 Southwest WL Pct GB San Antonio 4 1 .800 — Dallas Memphis Houston 4 1 .800 — 3 1 .750 .5 2 2 .500 1.5 New Orleans 2 2 .500 1.5 Northwest Minnesota WL Pct GB 3 1 .750 — Oklahoma City 3 2 .600 .5 Portland Denver Utah 2 2 .500 1 2 3 .400 1.5 2 3 .400 1.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic New York Boston WL Pct GB 3 0 1.000 — 2 2 .500 1.5 Philadelphia 2 2 .500 1.5 Brooklyn Toronto Central 1 2 .333 2 1 4 .200 3 WL Pct GB Milwaukee 2 1 .667 — Chicago Indiana Cleveland Detroit Southeast Miami Atlanta Orlando Charlotte WL Pct GB 4 1 .800 — 2 1 .667 1 2 2 .500 1.5 1 2 .333 2 Washington 0 3 .000 3 —————————————————— Thursday's results Oklahoma City 97, Chicago 91 L.A. Clippers at Portland, late Today's Games Brooklyn at Orlando, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Washington, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at New York, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Houston at Memphis, 5 p.m. Charlotte at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Detroit at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Phoenix, 6 p.m. San Antonio at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Utah at Denver, 7:30 p.m. 3 2 .600 — 2 3 .400 1 2 3 .400 1 0 5 .000 3 Hein said his team is "They worked harder this week than they prob- ably have in the past two or three." ——— Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 111 or at sports@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Follow him on Twitter:@TehamaSports NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 5 3 0 .625 235 175 San Diego 4 4 0 .500 185 157 Oakland 3 5 0 .375 171 229 Kansas City 1 7 0 .125 133 240 East N. England 5 3 0 .625 262 170 Miami WL T Pct PF PA 4 4 0 .500 170 149 N.Y. Jets 3 5 0 .375 168 200 Buffalo 3 5 0 .375 180 248 South WL T Pct PF PA Houston 7 1 0 .875 237 137 Indianapolis 6 3 0 .667 186 201 Tennessee 3 6 0 .333 182 308 Jacksonville 1 8 0 .111 127 246 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 6 2 0 .750 199 176 Pittsburgh 5 3 0 .625 191 164 Cincinnati 3 5 0 .375 189 218 Cleveland 2 7 0 .222 169 211 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA 49ERS 62 0 .750189 103 Seattle 5 4 0 .556 170 154 Arizona 4 5 0 .444 144 173 St. Louis 3 5 0 .375 137 186 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 6 3 0 .667 254 185 Philadelphia 3 5 0 .375 133 183 Dallas 3 5 0 .375 150 181 Washington 3 6 0 .333 226 248 South WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 8 0 0 1.000220 143 Tampa Bay 4 4 0 .500 226 185 New Orleans3 5 0 .375 218 229 Carolina 2 6 0 .250 149 180 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 7 1 0 .875 236 120 Green Bay 6 3 0 .667 239 187 Minnesota 5 4 0 .556 204 197 Detroit 4 4 0 .500 192 188 —————————————————— Week 9 Results Thursday's result San Diego 31, Kansas City 13 Sunday's results Green Bay 31, Arizona 17 Chicago 51, Tennessee 20 Houston 21, Buffalo 9 Carolina 21, Washington 13 Detroit 31, Jacksonville 14 Denver 31, Cincinnati 23 Baltimore 25, Cleveland 15 Indianapolis 23, Miami 20 Seattle 30, Minnesota 20 Tampa Bay 42, Oakland 32 Pittsburgh 24, N.Y. Giants 20 Atlanta 19, Dallas 13 Open: N.Y. Jets, New England, San Fran- cisco, St. Louis Monday's result New Orleans 28, Philadelphia 13 Week 10 Schedule Thursday's result Indianapolis 27, Jacksonville 10 Sunday's game Atlanta at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Detroit at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Denver at Carolina, 10 a.m. San Diego at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Miami, 10 a.m. Buffalo at New England, 10 a.m. Oakland at Baltimore, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. St. Louis at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 1:25 p.m. Houston at Chicago, 5:20 p.m. Open: Arizona, Cleveland, Green Bay, Washington Monday's game Kansas City at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m.