DieBruderschaft.com

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Despite being in their second season as teammates in Oakland, Derek Carr said there are still times even he is surprised by the strength and reliability of Michael Crabtrees hands.So sometimes in practice, Carr will test his star wideout by throwing an extra hard pass or one when Crabtree might not be quite ready, just to see whether he can still make the catch.Hell just turn around and just catch it with one hand and it makes you feel like you cant throw the ball hard at all, Carr said Wednesday.Its just effortless to him, sometimes hell catch the ball and hes not even looking. ... The stuff he does is ridiculous. He can get away with it because hes gifted in that way. I wouldnt tell little kids to try and catch like that.But its working quite well for Crabtree, whose career has undergone a resurgence since he left San Francisco following the 2014 season to sign up with Carr and the Raiders last year.After matching career highs with 85 catches and nine touchdowns last season, Crabtree is off to an even better start this season.After setting a career high with three touchdown catches in last weeks 28-27 win at Baltimore , Crabtree has 26 catches for 308 yards and four touchdowns, just one quarter of the way through the season as he builds a strong rapport with Carr.Its growing and its been very special, coach Jack Del Rio said. I think from Day 1, Michael has been a guy that we all consider very friendly to the quarterback. He has great hands, he understands how to get open. Hes a very competitive guy. Getting all those guys on the same page is huge.Carr lobbied the Raiders last spring to sign Crabtree, who played with Carrs older brother, David, in San Francisco. Crabtree took part in offseason passing drills with Carr to build that chemistry and the work continues to this day.They frequently try to get in extra work and practice to make sure they are on the same page on game day.What I want most is to be great, Carr said. Thats what he wants. We always consistently push each other to make sure were getting those reps.On top of that, making sure were always talking. Even during the games, we sit near each other and hell come up to me before the drive. Well talk about the situation. Hes in the game like a quarterback. He wants to know what Im thinking at all times.That chemistry has contributed to Crabtree becoming perhaps Carrs most trusted option in key moments. His 21 catches for first downs are the most in the league and he has been on the receiving end of some of Oaklands most important passes this season.Crabtree caught the game-winning 2-point conversion in Week 1 at New Orleans and then made three catches for 49 yards in last weeks game-winning drive at Baltimore, including a 23-yard touchdown with 2:12 left that gave the Raiders a 28-27 win.He was so committed to running the routes how I wanted it done, he was so committed to our relationship being right, Carr said.He was so committed to making sure he made so many plays for me that I would always look his way, thats what he wants and so far hes done that.Game notes The Raiders promoted TE Ryan OMalley to the active roster and placed TE Lee Smith on injured reserve. ... The team also signed LB Tyrell Adams and LB Darnell Sankey to the practice squad. ... RT Austin Howard returned to practice after missing the past two games with an ankle injury. ... RB Latavius Murray (toe), RT Menelik Watson (calf), LB Malcolm Smith (quadriceps), TE Clive Walford (right knee) and S Nate Allen (quadriceps) were among the players to miss practice.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Oren Burks Super Bowl Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Ray Nitschke Super Bowl Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Geronimo-Allison-Packers-Jersey/ . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Raven Greene Super Bowl Jersey . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Jason Spriggs Super Bowl Jersey . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. FORT WORTH, Texas -- When TCUs lead was cut to one soon after halftime, the Horned Frogs ran a pair of set plays. Brandon Parrish hit 3-pointers both times.Parrish scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his first start of the season, including those big 3s in a 35-second span as the Horned Frogs went on to a 79-60 victory over Jacksonville State on Friday night. They improved to 3-0 under new coach Jamie Dixon.It was a big momentum shift in the game, coach called the right play, and we executed really well, Parrish said. My guys got me the ball in open areas, and I just shot it with confidence.The only player to start every TCU game last season, Parrish had come off the bench the first two games. The 6-foot-6 senior started against Jacksonville State (1-3) while second-leading scorer JD Miller served a one-game suspension for violation of team rules. Dixon said Miller would be back for the next game.Freshman guard Desmond Bane has been in double figures in all three games for TCU after scoring 14 points. Alex Robinson, the former Texas A&M transfer who had to sit out last season, had 10 points and five assists.Malcolm Drumwright led the Gamecocks with 19 points. Norbertas Giga and Erik Durham each had 11 points and eight rebounds.After Jacksonville State cut the gap to 36-35 right after halftime, Parrish had the consecutive 3-pointers. The first was from the left side in front of the TCU bench, and then he hit from the right corner.His attitude, his energy -- if he was back next year, Id have him run for student body president, Dixon said. It would be good.BIG PICTUREJacksonville State: The Gamecocks and first-year coach Ray Harper are piling up the miles together.dddddddddddd This was their fourth consecutive road game to start the season. They will play 15 of their first 16 games away from their Alabama campus.TCU: The Horned Frogs are coming together under coach Jamie Dixon, with a mix of veteran players and talented freshmen. The return of Kenrich Williams is a boost, as he was the teams top rebounder as a sophomore two years ago before microfracture knee surgery. In his first game since the 2015 Big 12 tournament, he had nine points in 20 minutes.BUILDING TRUSTParrish said the biggest thing being stressed by Dixon is playing together. We can build trust amongst each other, so when were out there on the court, we can hold each other accountable and we can trust each other to be in the right spot and doing the right things, Parrish said. Were going to be a better team overall.BETTER THAN HALF WITH FEW GIVEAWAYSTCU shot 50 percent overall (28 of 56) and was just slightly better on 3-pointers by hitting 52 percent (11 of 21). Along with the good shooting, the Frogs had only eight turnovers.UP NEXTJacksonville State plays its first home game under Harper on Tuesday night against Dalton State College, their only game at home until Jan. 5.TCU wraps up its season-opening four-game homestand Monday against Illinois State before going to Las Vegas for two games. Those are the only games the Frogs will play out of Texas before Big 12 Conference play begins.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '