Support » and Central American and the Caribbean

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders keep finding new ways to win late in games, while the San Diego Chargers somehow manage to find even more painful ways to lose.Derek Carr threw a go-ahead 21-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree on a fourth-and-2 gamble and the Raiders survived when the Chargers botched a potential tying kick late in a 34-31 win Sunday.Sometimes you just have to find ways to win and get it done at the end, Carr said. It would be nice if we didnt have to do all the stress and drama at the end. That would be nice.After using a late 2-point conversion to win the opener, stopping a late Tennessee drive in a Week 3 win and using a late score and defensive stop to beat Baltimore last week, the Raiders (4-1) survived against the Chargers (1-4) to post their first three-game winning streak in five years.Philip Rivers threw his fourth TD pass of the game to cut a 10-point lead to three midway through the fourth and then drove San Diego down the field late. But after Melvin Gordon was held to 1 yard on third-and-2, coach Mike McCoy opted for a 36-yard field goal.Mike Windts snap was on target, but rookie Drew Kaser couldnt get down the hold and the Chargers never got a chance at the tie.You cant make this stuff up, Rivers said. You think, `Is there any other way we can find a way to do this?The Chargers had already lost three games they led at the two-minute warning, blowing a 21-point lead to Kansas City and a 13-point fourth-quarter advantage last week versus New Orleans.Then came the latest loss that included four turnovers and the botched kick, leading to a 10th straight division loss.Just when you think youve seen it all, something like that happens, McCoy said.COOPER SCORES: Raiders receiver Amari Cooper hadnt scored a touchdown in four games before breaking through against the Chargers. He scored on a 64-yard pass from Carr in the third quarter and added a 2-point conversion after Crabtrees TD. Cooper also nearly had three more scores, but couldnt get both feet down inbounds on two throws into the end zone and was unable to re-establish himself after being interfered with on a third play.First one is always the hardest, no matter what it is, Carr said. Im just happy for him because he works his tail off.BOSAS DEBUT: Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa made an impressive debut after missing training camp during a nasty contract dispute and sitting out the first four games with a hamstring injury. He came in on the second drive and had a sack and a tackle for loss. He added a second sack in the fourth quarter.It felt pretty natural, Bosa said. Its nice to get the butterflies out because I was pretty nervous coming into this game.BIG PLAY ROOKIE: First-round pick Karl Joseph, who started the season on the bench in Oakland, has made a big impact since becoming a starter in Week 3. He intercepted a pass from Rivers late in the first half to set up a field goal and then recovered a fumble by Gordon to set up Crabtrees TD.LEAKY D: Despite the win, the Raiders allowed more than 400 yards for the fourth time in five games. Big plays were the problem in this game as the Chargers had three passes go for at least 50 yards.Were not even close to the standard we need to be at, linebacker Bruce Irvin said. Whatd we give up today, 400 yards or something? Thats bad. Happy about the win, but Im not in a good mood about how we performed.GIVE IT AWAY: After committing turnovers on the final three drives in last weeks loss to New Orleans , the Chargers picked up where they left off. Antonio Gates was stripped on San Diegos first drive and lost a fumble with the Chargers in position to score. Rivers then was intercepted by Sean Smith on a deep pass on the Chargers next play from scrimmage. Rivers threw another interception late in the half, giving San Diego six turnovers in eight possessions. San Diego committed a fourth turnover late in the third quarter when Gordon fumbled, setting up Oaklands go-ahead score.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Air VaporMax Plus Black Gold .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Nike Air VaporMax Black+Anthracite .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-3-clearance.html . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Fake Vapormax For Sale .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Cheap Vapormax 97 . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.It may seem like the Canadian mens volleyball team is just another overnight success after a recent upset over powerhouse Russia. In fact, its a success story seven years in the making. And the man who built the foundation is coach Glenn Hoag, who has guided the team since 2006. Volleyball isnt a sport that gets a lot of attention in Canada, although that may change if the national team keeps developing and winning more. But University of Winnipeg volleyball coach Larry McKay says outside of Canada, people know who Glenn Hoag is and they respect him. The national volleyball training centre was based in Winnipeg until it moved to Gatineau in 2009. "In Europe, they think hes one of the best coaches in the world," says McKay, who adds that its a sentiment Hoags players share. "Hes a guy thats incredibly passionate about what hes doing," says attacker Justin Duff of Winnipeg. On the team four years, he also played for Hoag when he coached professionally in Turkey. "Ive not seen a lot of people that care as much about their job and what theyre doing as he does." A key to Hoags plan to revitalize the national team was re-establishing the national training centre, after a decade when university players moved directly to international play. Duff says that alone is huge. It gives Canadas players the training they need to cope with teams from countries where you can turn pro at 17 or 18 and play full-time. "The full-time centre helps us catch up. It gives us a full year of training physically and with basic skills of volleyball and advance tactics." Duff points to Rudy Verhoeff. The Calgary native had just finished university and never played pro, yet he was a huge contributor to their recent success in the World League thanks to the national centre. But the rest of the story comes from what Hoag learned through years playing and coaching professionally in Europe -- the way to succeed is basically to sweat the details. "Establish systems and get the players to (understand) these are their references," he says. "By establishing these systems, I established a training philosophy around (them)." He knew it wouldnt create a winner overnight but it seems to be paying off now. The teams latest triumph is their win over Russia at the recent World League final tournament in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The win helped boost Canada seven spots to 11th in the world rankings, with Russia still at No. 2, behind Brazil. Although Canada ended up losing to Brazil (and Russia bounced back to win the title), 2013 saw Canadas best performance ever in World League play with a record of 9-3, the latest sign a program that languished for a decade is picking up steam. "What Ive been able to do is trap some teams because they think theyre so good," Hoag says of his upstart Canadians. "Well do it with patience. Well do it with the qualities we want to develop." Not that winning is the only measure of success. Its probably not even high on Hoags list (although he admits it is very nice).dddddddddddd He says hes been able to see progress in other ways as the team develops. "Are they better receivers, better attackers? Is the group performing better in certain areas?" he says. "Winning is really important and we all like to do it but, if you dont develop the means to win." Hoag has spent most of his life playing or coaching volleyball. As a player, hes already been inducted into the Quebec Volleyball Hall of Fame. He played on the national team from 1981 to 1986 and on the 1984 Olympic team that finished fourth (Canadas best to date). He helped Canada win silver at the 2003 World University Games and gold at the 1984 Commonwealth volleyball championships. He played professionally in Europe between 1984 and 1993 and coached Paris Volley to a Triple Crown victory, winning the French Cup, the French Championship and the European Champions Cup. "Europe is the Mecca of volleyball internationally." When he returned to Canada he also returned to coaching at Sherbrooke University, where hed worked in the 90s, before taking the reins of the national team. But Europe was his graduate school. "I got to learn a lot," he says. The centre and more training is important. But its also important that his players believe they can be winners. "Weve reached a certain point in our game and now weve got to polish it a little, but our guys are not afraid to play anyone now," he says. The team has a break from competition this summer. "It was a good World League, now it becomes the past for me," says Hoag. "I evaluate and I measure and we get back in the gym in August." Their next competition is NORCECA, which covers North and Central American and the Caribbean, in Vancouver at the end of September. The Canadians will face rivals such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the United States. "I still have to work a lot on the skills," says the coach. Cracking the top five in the World League is great but Hoag says they arent letting it go to their heads as they prepare for the world championships next year and hopefully the Olympics in 2016. The Canadian men havent qualified for the Summer Games since 1992. "Im happy that we grew but I dont pay attention to the world ranking too much. . . We can beat some teams that are ahead of us and we can also lose to teams that are behind. "And its because volleyball is so competitive worldwide." To keep moving forward, middle blocker Adam Simac says the team has to eliminate inconsistencies and the kind of unforced errors they made against Brazil. Its even more important now that they arent so far under everyones radar, but that attention should also help force a little focus. "Weve kind of served notice to the world, You cant take Canada lightly any more," he said. "Every team that plays us is going to be ready for us and is going to be gunning for us. That will make our focus a little bit better and hopefully we deliver a more refined product." ' ' '