Herzlich Willkommen » Knights couldnt come back to haunt them Sunday

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Eric Reid got a quick lesson on the Black Hole, a new term for the second-year San Francisco safety.I dont even know what the Black Hole is, what is that? Reid asked, standing at his locker Wednesday at the midway point of preparations for Sundays game at Oakland.Ah, yes, those crazy characters all dressed up in the Coliseum end zone.Doctors. Lawyers. Techies. School teachers.Ive seen highlights on TV. They get pretty dressed up, right? Thatll be fun. I like that kind of stuff, Reid said. My dad is a pastor and he likes to get dressed up in motorcycle gear and try to act tough. Its good to change it up a bit. I bet they enjoy it.Reid and the 49ers defence have been doing their part to carry the load in recent weeks, and now San Francisco (7-5) is playing for its playoff life as it makes the short road trip to Oakland (1-11) on Sunday, likely needing to win its four remaining games or at least get some help.We could play better. There are some plays that cost us games in the earlier part of the season, Reid said. We dug ourselves into this hole and weve got to climb out of it.On a defence that has been defined by its moving parts and injuries as much as its playmaking ability, it has been a tough year to establish the momentum of recent seasons. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman continues to rehab his surgically repaired left knee that has kept him out since the injury in Januarys NFC title game at Seattle, and the 21-day window for him to be activated will end Monday.Linebacker Patrick Willis was lost for the season because of a troublesome left big toe that required surgery, while Aldon Smith spent the first nine games serving a suspension by the league. Nose tackles Glenn Dorsey and Ian Williams have dealt with injuries, too, with Williams going on season-ending injured reserve for the second straight year.Michael Wilhoite and Dan Skuta have emerged as reliable linebacker replacements, and rookies Chris Borland and Aaron Lynch have become key contributors out of necessity at the position.Just as a defence were not going to fold in, were not going to fold our tents up just based on whats happened, captain Justin Smith said Wednesday. Guys have responded. Young guys have played well. Hats off to those guys, theyve kept the level up there.The 35-year-old Smiths body feels better at this stage of the season given he has regularly taken off Wednesday practices to rest his body, something the coaching staff supports as an approach to ensure Smith is at his best on game days. He has 36 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles this season.Smith underwent surgery for a partially torn left triceps following the 2012 Super Bowl season, then dealt with a nagging shoulder issue much of last year.He hasnt decided whether he will return for a 15th NFL season next year.I havent given it any thought, Smith said. It will be something to think about after the season.He has more pressing matters, such as chasing down rookie Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on Sunday. Smith and the 49ers realize Oakland will be looking to restore some respectability on the heels of a 52-0 loss at St. Louis.Two key members of San Franciscos 2013 secondary are now with the Raiders — cornerbacks Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers.Smith praised the new secondary featuring safety Antoine Bethea and said what makes it work with new faces is keeping things simple and basic execution.Its a credit to these guys coming in, stepping up and making it important to them. Thats the biggest thing, Smith said. The levels been raised here on how we play defence. These guys came in and they didnt want to see that bar go down, and it hasnt.When it comes to the offensive struggles, Smith says, I stay on my side, I stay with what I know.Were just going to rely on our offence to come around, Reid said. We need them to win these games, they need us. Weve just got to count on each other.NOTES: LT Joe Staley didnt participate in a practice that was moved up several hours to late morning because of steady rain. Coach Jim Harbaugh said he was throwing up. ... RT Anthony Davis, who has missed the last two games nursing a concussion, was set to do some cardio work and weightlifting.___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Air Max 97 Have a Nike Day Blue . His big 2-minute outburst in the fourth quarter Tuesday night is all that really mattered for the Dallas Mavericks. Air Max 97 Womens Clearance . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. http://www.outletairmax97.com/air-max-97-nintendo-64.html. - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Air Max 97 Mens Clearance . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. Nike Vapormax 97 Metallic Gold .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26.LONDON, Ont. -- The London Knights elimination from their third straight Memorial Cup stung because it was their earliest exit of the three. The host team of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup was a true contender among the four teams in it. With seven Knights forwards who helped the Knights win the last two Ontario Hockey League championships and with a team that scored over 300 goals this season, London was a threat to win the Cup on their third try in as many years. But the hosts were eliminated by the Guelph Storm in a 7-2 loss Wednesday. The Knights went 0-3 through the preliminary round and needed a win against their OHL rival to get into a tiebreaker game. "We thought for sure wed have a better chance of winning it this year," Knights forward Josh Anderson said. "We didnt have the bounces we wanted. Its too bad it had to end this way. "We wanted to have the Memorial Cup championship. I thought our organization really deserved one after the hard work weve been putting through these past three years. Looking at it now, Im glad I got the opportunity to come here and play for the London Knights." The Knights lost the 2012 final 2-1 in overtime to the host Shawinigan Cataractes. They fell in last years semifinal to the Portland Winterhawks in Saskatoon. The Storm were the first team since the Windsor Spitfires in 2010 to go 3-0 through the preliminary round. The OHL champions had already secured a berth in Sundays championship game after their second win. "It gives us confidence to know we can beat every team in the tournament," Storm forward Scott Kosmachuk said. The Val-dOr Foreurs, 2-1, and the Edmonton Oil Kings, 1-2, meet in Fridays semifinal in a clash of the Quebec and Western league champions. The winner faces the Storm for the Cup. Kosmachuk is a Winnipeg Jets prospect and led Guelph with a hat trick. Detroit Red Wings draft pick Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice. Marc Stevens and Dallas Stars prospect Jason Dickinson added a goal apiece for an explosive offence thats churned out 18 goals in three games in the tournament. The Storms Justin Nichols held off London when they pressed late in the first period and midway through the second. He made 45 saves for the win. Anderson, a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, and Brett Welychka replied for the Knights. London mustered just four goals in three games. Two were scored by defencemen. The Knights were stopped on two penalty shots in the tournament and they scored once on 12 power-play chances. London outshot the Foreurs 51-28 in the first game of the tournament, but lost 1-0.dddddddddddd "Its a bad time to get cold for offence and for scoring goals," Knights forward Max Domi said. London goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped 14-of-17 shots and was replaced by Jake Patterson early in the second when he inadvertently kicked the puck into his own net. Patterson allowed four goals on 21 shots. Guelph also ousted London from this years OHL playoffs on Apr. 11. The Knights had five weeks without a game, which may explain their lack of touch around the net. "Its not easy being off for that long and coming back and playing at the high level these guys have been playing through the whole thing and winning championships," Knights forward Bo Horvat said. "Weve been practising the whole time, but theres no excuses." Londons goaltending felt unsettled as well. Because of an eight-game playoff suspension in March, Stolarzs hiatus prior to the Cup was even longer. In his first game in seven weeks, he made 27 saves in the loss to Val-dOr. But the Philadelphia Flyers prospect was replaced by Patterson both Wednesday and after two periods of Sundays 5-2 loss to Edmonton. Wednesdays round-robin finale featured a pair of frightening knee-on-knee collisions, although the players in each case escaped major injury. Storm assistant captain Zack Mitchell was tossed at 6:56 of the first period for kneeing London defenceman Dakota Mermis. The CHL suspended his Storm teammate Chadd Bauman for the rest of the tournament Wednesday for the same hit on Val-dOr defenceman Guillaume Gelinas on Monday. Knights defenceman Nikita Zadorov took a tripping minor in a second-collision with Bertuzzi, who limped off the ice. But both Mermis and Bertuzzi stayed in Wednesdays game, whereas Gelinas was unable to play the following night against Edmonton. Londons frustration boiled over in the final minutes and Stevens scored Guelphs fourth power-play goal of the game on a two-man advantage at 17:14. The Windsor Spitfires of 2010 went 4-0 en route to the Cup that year. But the Spitfires opened the 2009 tournament with a pair of losses and ran the table to claim the trophy. For that reason, Guelph wanted London gone so the Knights couldnt come back to haunt them Sunday. "This team is a team that once they get this city and this building behind them, they can really do some damage," Guelph captain Matt Finn said. "We didnt want to let them back in because theyre a dangerous team. "We wanted to be the team that was 3-0 and knock London out of this tournament." ' ' '