Bell critical of Guillen in interview

Miami reliever Heath Bell was critical of manager Ozzie Guillen in a radio interview Monday, the latest in a series of turbulent comments for the disappointing Marlins to deal with as their season winds down. cheap jerseys free shipping

''It's been an interesting year with Ozzie,'' Bell told Miami station WQAM. ''That's pretty much all I'll say about that. It's just been really interesting to have him manage.''

However, pressed with more questions, Bell kept talking, eventually saying the Marlins need a manager ''that everybody respects and looks up to.''

Bell's struggles were one of the biggest issues for the Marlins this season. He signed a $27 million, three-year contract over the winter, then eventually lost the closer role after a disastrous start to the season, which included an 8.47 ERA after his first 21 appearances with Miami.

For the year, Bell has 19 saves in 26 opportunities, with a 5.40 ERA in those games. He has appeared 43 times in non-save situations, going 3-0 with a 5.06 ERA.

Bell's seven blown saves were the second-highest total in the majors this season entering Monday. Two players had blown eight opportunities.

''You know, I stunk in April, plain and simple,'' Bell said in the interview. ''I said I stunk, I worked hard, I busted my butt. I think the second half, I've had a tremendous second half. I'm not closing, I know that. But I just kept my mouth shut because I want to regain what I had, and I feel like I can't do that.''

Miami was off on Monday. At 66-87, the Marlins are in last in the NL East and have the sixth-worst record in the majors — a far cry from what the team expected when it went on a spending spree last winter.

The Marlins signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Bell to contracts worth a combined $191 million. But Bell was a bust as the closer, and the Marlins were plagued by poor hitting, especially in the clutch.

Bell said he wants to be back with the Marlins ''without a doubt'' next season. Bell's ERA since the All-Star break is 3.12. Prior to the break, it was 6.75.

His statements came one day after Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria called his former manager, current Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez, ''a colossal failure'' with the team. Loria was responding to statements Gonzalez made to The Miami Herald, which quoted Gonzalez saying ''there's not a manager dead or alive that Jeffrey thinks is good enough.''

The Marlins will finish with a losing record for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. Their only two winning seasons in that span came under Gonzalez.

Guillen is completing the first year in a four-year contract with the club. He said last week that he is not worried about where he'll work next season.

''That's the last thing going through my mind every day, if I'm going to have a job next year,'' Guillen said Friday in New York, before a series where the Marlins were swept by the Mets. ''I'm going to have a job. I don't know if it's managing the Marlins, but I will have a job. I don't know if it's managing in the big leagues, but I will have a job.''

The Marlins are wrapping up their first season in a $634 million retractable-roof ballpark in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. The season started coming apart when Guillen was suspended for five games in April following comments praising Cuban leader Fidel Castro, infuriating the Miami-area Cuban community. yankees jerseys cheap

''Things can only get better,'' Bell said. ''They don't always stay bad.''

Woman hit by bullet at New Mexico game

University police say a woman watching the New Mexico-New Mexico State game was struck in the leg by a bullet apparently fired from outside Aggie Memorial Stadium. cheap New England Patriots jerseys

Deputy Chief Andy Bowen of the New Mexico State University Police says the woman in her 50s was watching Saturday night's game when she felt what she thought was a bug bite. Then she realized she had been shot.

The shooting happened at about 8 p.m. at the stadium in Las Cruces.

Bowen says no one in the stadium heard a shot. The trajectory of the bullet was consistent with it being fired into the air outside the stadium and then coming down. cheap Tim tebow jerseys

The woman was flown to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where she was doing well Sunday morning.

A's snap Yanks' 7-game win streak

Grant Balfour watched as Alex Rodriguez's high fly soared toward right field and thought the worst. Hard to blame him after Oakland's first two games at Yankee Stadium.

With his back to the wall, Josh Reddick caught the ball, then Balfour notched the final out as the Athletics bounced back to avoid a sweep, edging New York 5-4 Sunday and stopping the Yankees' seven-game winning streak. cheap 49ers jerseys

"The way things went for us in this series, you never know," Balfour said.

Cliff Pennington hit a go-ahead single in the sixth inning after a key error by backup shortstop Eduardo Nunez. A day after their stunning 14-inning loss — capped by a misplay on Nunez's grounder — the A's maintained their two-game lead for the second AL wild-card spot over the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees kept their one-game lead in the AL East because Baltimore lost in Boston. Despite the defeat, the Yankees have to like their chances to win the division — their final 10 games are against three teams with records below .500.

"We control what happens," Derek Jeter said. "We play how we're capable of, we win our games. We really don't have to look at the scoreboard."

The A's lost a 10-9 heartbreaker Saturday when Brandon Moss misplayed Nunez's spinning grounder for an error with two outs in the 14th. This time they took advantage of Nunez's two-base throwing error on a tough play with one out in the sixth.

An out after Josh Donaldson reached second base, Pennington, the No. 9 batter, singled to left field for his third hit and a 5-4 lead. Pennington earlier hit a two-run homer.

"To lose two games in extra innings is tough, especially when these games mean so much," Pennington said. "It was really still just another game, but it was a big one."

Nunez, demoted in May because of his struggles in the field, was playing shortstop because Jeter has been slowed by a sore ankle. Jeter had two hits as the designated hitter to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.

"I have to keep practicing defense. I have to keep working," Nunez said. "Tomorrow's a different day." wholesale nike nfl jerseys

Yoenis Cespedes had a tying single in the fifth after a wild pitch from Hiroki Kuroda (14-11). The A's scored a run in the first on another wild pitch by the Yankees starter.

Jerry Blevins (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief of A.J. Griffin.

Oakland improved to 2-4 on a 10-game road trip against playoff contenders. They play four games against West-leading Texas beginning Monday.

In a seesaw series, the A's opened a 3-0 lead but the Yankees rallied for four runs in the fourth before Cespedes tied it.

"Rarely do you lose a game like you did last night, and I think coming back from something like that and scoring early in the game showed some fight right away," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It was a big game."

Oakland scored four runs in the 13th inning of Saturday's 5-hour, 43-minute game, but the Yankees came back. The A's bullpen locked this one down, though, with 4 2-3 innings of shutout ball. Ryan Cook worked 1 1/3 innings, Sean Doolittle went an inning and Balfour finished for his 20th save.

"Terrific," Melvin said. "Our bullpen came up huge for us today."

Donaldson led off the second by beating out a grounder to shortstop. But replays clearly showed Donaldson's foot a few feet from coming down on first base when Nick Swisher caught Nunez's low throw. Two batters later, Pennington homered to right field for a 3-0 lead.

The young A's — 14 rookies on the roster — kept right on celebrating in their dugout, a day after former teammate and current Yankee Eric Chavez told a New York columnist that Oakland's rhythmic clapping during its three-homer spurt in the 13th inning was "high schoolish."

But in this tight series the Yankees rallied again, and Raul Ibanez was right in the mix in the fourth inning.

Trailing 3-0 and with only one hit off Griffin through three innings, the Yankees came back in the fourth when Cano singled and Swisher homered into the second deck in right field. After two more hits, Ibanez followed up his two-homer performance Saturday with an RBI double that left a mark on the right field line to tie it. nba jerseys cheap

With the infield playing halfway, Nunez drove in a fourth run with a grounder to second base.

Kozma hits 1st HR, Cards top Cubs

Pete Kozma picked a big spot for his first major league home run.

Kozma had two hits and drove in two runs to help Kyle Lohse and the short-handed St. Louis Cardinals win for the sixth time in seven games, holding their lead in the NL wild-card race with a 6-3 win Sunday over the Chicago Cubs. cheap 49ers jerseys

Minus All-Stars Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran from the starting lineup, the Cardinals stayed 2½ games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.

Kozma homered in the sixth inning to give his team a 4-2 lead, and added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in St. Louis' two-run eighth.

''Every game means something,'' Kozma said. ''I feel pretty good getting in there every day and working out the jitters.''

A quick-thinking Cardinals fan, Jeff Barabasz, caught the ball and immediately sat on it. He gave a decoy ball to his 13-year-old son, Matthew, who threw it back onto the field to appease the Wrigley Field faithful.

They met Kozma after the game to return the real home run ball, posing for pictures with the 24-year-old.

''That was pretty cool,'' Kozma said. ''It's also big to help your team out in a big spot.''

Kozma was called up when shortstop Rafael Furcal went down with a strained right elbow at the end of August and has impressed manager Mike Matheny, earning regular playing time.

''I've been impressed with the way he moves around shortstop, and he's taken good at-bats for us,'' Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ''He's had tough at-bats. That eight-hole is not an easy place to be. He's done a nice job with the opportunities he's had.''

Closer Jason Motte also kept a souvenir from the game after recording his 40th save.

Motte joins Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith and Jason Isringhausen as the only closers in Cardinals history to post a 40-save season.

Motte has six saves in the team's last seven games.

''If I'm out there converting saves, that means we're winning,'' Motte said. ''That's what it's about, it's about winning.''

Lohse (16-3) made his team-leading 32nd start, giving up three runs and five hits in six innings.

Molina did not play for the defending World Series champions because of lower back spasms, having hurt himself while getting out of the way of a pitch Saturday. The catcher was feeling better, manager Mike Matheny said, still had some discomfort.

Beltran did not start because of what Matheny believed to be food poisoning. The outfielder had a pinch-hit RBI single during a two-run eighth.

He didn't join the team in the dugout until the fifth inning, and went to the plate without any warm-up swings.

Allen Craig got three hits and drove in two runs for St. Louis.

''The more I watch him, the more I'm impressed,'' Matheny said of Craig. ''Everything about him.''

Cubs starter Justin Germano (2-9) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs and 10 hits.

Craig hit a two-run double with two outs in the third and David Freese had an RBI single. St. Louis would have had the bases loaded for Craig, but a baserunning mistake found both Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday on third base and Carpenter was tagged out. wholesale nike nfl jerseys

Alfonso Soriano hit his 31st homer for the Cubs, giving him a career-high 105 RBI.

''He just keeps going, he's had to play a lot of games this year with very few days off,'' Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. ''He's done one heck of a job — left field, at the plate and everything about this season has been one of his best.''

Chicago got two runs back in the fourth on Welington Castillo's RBI double and a wild pitch.

These aren't your 2010 Reds

The 2010 Reds stood little chance of beating the Phillies in the Division Series. The Phillies’ rotation was simply too good.

Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in Game 1. The Reds made four errors and hit three batters in Game 2. Cole Hamels threw a five-hit shutout in Game 3 – and just like that, the team with the highest-scoring offense in the National League was eliminated. cheap jerseys free shipping

These Reds are better.

I won’t predict that they will advance past the Division Series, not when their opponent has yet to be determined, not when trying to forecast the baseball postseason is an exercise in futility.

But the Reds, whose magic number for clinching the NL Central is two as they host the Dodgers this weekend (Saturday, MLB on FOX, 4:10 p.m. ET), boast a more talented pitching staff than their 2010 predecessors.

The 2010 team was 10th in the NL in rotation ERA and seventh in bullpen ERA. The 2012 team ranks sixth in the league in rotation ERA, first in bullpen ERA – and its five starters have combined to make all but one start this season.

True, the Reds’ offense isn’t what it was in ’10, ranking only eighth in the NL in scoring. But injuries to first baseman Joey Votto and third baseman Scott Rolen have contributed to the lack of production, and all of the team’s hitters are on track to be healthy for the postseason.

Alas, the Reds have two significant pitching concerns.

Closer Aroldis Chapman has not pitched since Sept. 10 because of shoulder fatigue. And if ace right-hander Johnny Cueto fails to rebound from his late-season funk, the Reds might be in a position comparable to where they were two years ago against the Phillies.

Remember?

Righty Edinson Volquez started Game 1 after making only 12 starts during the regular season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy.

Manager Dusty Baker reasoned that Volquez had pitched well in his final four regular-season starts, had enjoyed success against the Phillies the previous season, had the best chance of any Reds starter to hold down the Phils’ left-handed hitters.

It all seemed logical enough until Volquez took the mound and lasted only 1 2/3 innings – a problem on a night when the other guy was throwing a no-hitter. Bronson Arroyo and Cueto pitched OK in games 2 and 3, but to no avail.

Now Volquez is gone, and Cueto is the Reds’ clear No. 1. Only lately, he isn’t pitching like a No. 1. His results were better Thursday, coming off three difficult starts that probably cost him the NL Cy Young Award. But even though Cueto pitched six scoreless innings against the Cubs, he allowed nine baserunners (one on an intentional walk) and wasn’t especially sharp.

He has worked 203 innings, a career-high.

“I don’t think that was the best stuff he’s ever had,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum told reporters. “You can tell he might be getting a little tired at the end of the year or whatever, but I’ve seen him with a lot better stuff.”

Cueto’s problem, if there is a problem, doesn’t appear to be physical. He threw 92 to 95 mph Thursday, and his recent readings have been among his highest of the season, according to one Reds official. The bigger issue, the official says, is that Cueto is missing up in the zone, failing to generate early contact off his sinker.

The Reds, at this point, aren’t inclined to give Cueto a breather; quite the contrary, they want him to get back on a roll. Cueto, though, likely will make abbreviated appearances in his final two regular-season starts. And while Baker could go with someone else in Game 1 – righties Mat Latos, Arroyo and Homer Bailey all are pitching well – it’s not the manager’s style to demote a veteran who excelled for most of the season. Nor should it be.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

The regular season is not over, and the Reds cannot be content simply to win the NL Central. Finishing with the league’s best record – the Reds currently trail the Nationals by a half-game - would provide a tangible benefit in the Division Series, not to mention home-field advantage in the NLCS. yankees jerseys cheap

The way things stand, the top seed in the NL will avoid the Giants in the first round and face the wild-card winner. That team – whether it’s the Braves, Cardinals, Brewers or Dodgers – likely will burn its best pitcher in the one-game knockout, if not a prior tiebreaker. So, the top seed probably will avoid seeing Kris Medlen, Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo or Josh Beckett – yes, Beckett is the Dodgers’ ace at this moment – until at least Game 3.

The Cardinals’ rotation ERA actually is better than the Giants’, but if Lohse can pitch only once, the group overall will be less formidable. Even against the Giants, the Reds would not necessarily be at a disadvantage; their rotation actually has outperformed San Francisco’s when accounting for the differences in home ballparks. Then again, right-hander Matt Cain and lefty Madison Bumgarner might be better than any starter the Reds have.

Actually, I may be wrong about that – Latos has a 2.83 ERA in his last 10 starts, Arroyo a 2.85 in his last seven, Bailey a 1.55 in his last four. A return to form by Cueto and Chapman, and the Reds would stand a legitimate chance of winning the World Series.

They’re better than they were in 2010. Their first-round opponent figures to be less formidable than the Phillies were that year. Still, the Reds arguably need Cueto more than the Nationals need Stephen Strasburg. And Cueto, at least right now, is not the same.

AP Pro32 ballot from Lynch

Ballot and comments from AP Pro 32 panel voter John Lynch of Fox Sports:

Week 3

JOHN LYNCH (Fox Sports) cheap Washington Redskins jerseys

1. San fran 49ers - They took down those at Lambeau now a good Detroit team both at home and beat them both soundly. They are the category of the league at this point.

2. Atlanta Falcons - Mike Smith made some modifications in his staff this offseason bringing in two new Coordinators, OC Dirk Koetter and DC Mike Nolan. The Falcons are soaring at 2-0 and look tough.

3. Houston Texans - The Texans haven't had the fundamental time competition, but sure have looked good. Their first big test comes Sunday against a Bronco team coming off a quick week.

4. Green Bay Packers - The Packers showed their mettle by soundly defeating the Bears led by Aaron Rogers and Clay Matthews (the defensive MVP through two weeks). That is what good teams do, they respond.

5. New York Giants - Not really what the G-Men had in mind vs. the Bucs, they pulled it by having an air assault by Eli, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

6. New England Patriots - The Pats weren't sharp, but above all else were beat by way of a tough Cardinals team. Losing Aaron Hernandez is a big one for that Patriot offense.

7. Baltimore Ravens - Uh oh. They slipped against the Eagles. These are excellent and will also be close to the top all seasons.

8. Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles have won two games by a total of two points. Bottom line is that they are 2-O and their defense is legit. To keep up here weather resistant remove the turnovers!

9. Pittsburgh Steelers - Impressive recover win for that Steelers. All the more impressive considering they achieved it without Polamalu and Harrison.

10. Gambling - The Broncos traveled to Atlanta along with stunned early. They hung in and fought to make it close at the conclusion. It gets no easier with the Texans going to Denver on the short week for the Broncos.

11. Detroit Lions - These folks were beaten, but through the class in the league at the moment in the 49ers.

12. Gambling - The Chargers are already flying within the radar this coming year also it may bode well for the kids in 2012. They looked good last night in Oakland.

13. Carolina Panthers - The Panthers were embarrassed in Week 1 by Tampa and played like a team that did not like it resistant to the Saints.

14. Arizona Cardinals - That's termed as a statement game! Commencing New England and standing toe foot with Tom Brady and also the Patriots. They earned it and beat the Patriots making a big move up the rankings. WOW!

15. Chicago Bears - Cutler was pushing his LT but should have stood a trouble with his offensive coaches for leaving him on the market 1-on-1 with Clay Matthews while he was clearly outmanned. Provide him with somewhat help!

16. Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks dominated a sky-high Dallas Cowboys team and looked great executing it.

17. Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys got covered with the Seahawks. Here is the inconsistency that is maddening while using the Cowboys.

18. Washington Redskins - A reduction in composure towards the end of your chippy game could have Mike Shanahan steaming. The Redskins have looked good but lost a very good player in Orakpo and a starter in Carricker. Challenging to replace.

19. Cincinnati Bengals - Andy Dalton responded following a tough Week 1.

20. The big apple Jets - The Jets hung in with the Steelers early and were dominated. Can they get well?

21. Gambling - Loss inside a shootout resistant to the defending champ Giants actually provides Bucs confidence advancing. They think together they will spend playtime with anyone and won't go along easy.

22. New Orleans Saints - I thought they might miss their head coach when dealing with adversity. After being embarrassed in weeks 1 and a couple of, adversity has officially arrived!

23. St. Louis Rams - Impressive and hard fought win for the Rams resistant to the 'Skins. Bradford looked great, nevertheless the star of the show was Danny Amendola with 15 grabs.

24. Buffalo Bills - Buffalo launched a statement after a bad Week 1, soundly defeating the Chiefs.

25. Gambling - Andrew Luck gets Win No. one in what's going to be many in her promising career.

26. Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings are becoming better as is also their QB Christian Ponder. Too little there with the Vikes being consistent yet.

27. Gambling - Surprised this team hasn't played better because In my opinion they may be well coached and have absolutely some good players. Scoreboard doesn't tell that story thus far in 2012.

28. Kansas City Chiefs - Losing to the Falcons is something, but getting hammered because of the Bills. Think about it Chiefs!

29. Miami Dolphins - I guess they didn't like in that last spot and did something about this.

30. Oakland Raiders - The remaking on the Raiders took an unsatisfactory fork out getting smoked by a Dolphins team that were awful. cheap New york jets jerseys 

31. Jacksonville Jaguars - Jags outclassed and outmatched against a great Texans team.

32. Cleveland Browns - The Browns got great efforts from Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson but fell short up against the Andy Dalton led Bengals.

49ers defense shuts down Lions

The San Francisco 49ers stymied 2011 NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in Week 1, then record-setting Matthew Stafford in Week 2.

This stingy, opportunistic defense is again making its mark as one of the league's best facing the top offenses and most prolific passers — and that you can shake on.

The Niners denied Stafford another milestone, Vernon Davis caught touchdown passes of 21 and 23 yards from Alex Smith, and San Francisco beat the Detroit Lions 27-19 on Sunday night in a September showdown of NFC powers that hardly lived up to its hype.

Smith completed 20 of 31 throws for 226 yards and extended his franchise-record streak of passes without an interception to 216. He led the reigning NFC West champion Niners (2-0) to their ninth straight win in the series since the Lions' last victory on Sept. 25, 1995. Smith took a hard hand to the helmet from John Wendling late and bloodied his nose, then led another touchdown drive.

''He's as tough as a $2 steak,'' 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. ''I grew up eating a lot of them. I know what I'm talking about.''

The 49ers ran their home winning streak against the Lions to 12 games since Detroit's last victory at Candlestick Park on Nov. 2, 1975.

And no heated greeting after this one. Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz met each other with a friendly hello and handshake during pregame warmups, then an uneventful shake and half-hug when time expired.

''It went good,'' Harbaugh said. Frank Gore carried 17 times for 89 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, just missing his second 100-yard game this year and fourth in the series.

Calvin Johnson caught eight passes for 94 yards, but that was hardly enough as the Lions (1-1) never got closer than the 20 until their final drive on a cool, windy night by the bay. San Francisco's secondary kept Megatron from catching a touchdown pass for the second straight matchup, forcing Stafford to rely heavily on the running game.

Another impressive outing by a defense that shut down Rodgers in a 30-22 win over the Packers last week at Lambeau Field.

''That's our `D,'''' tight end Delanie Walker said. ''They're some dogs.''

Stafford finished 19 for 32 with 230 yards, one touchdown and an interception, missing a chance to become the first player in NFL history to throw for 350 yards in five straight games. Drew Brees of the Saints also did so in four consecutive games last season.

Stafford threw for 355 yards in last week's 27-23 win over St. Louis at home but also had three interceptions before halftime for the first time — and said he couldn't do that again for the Lions to win. He never got in sync.

''We didn't do a job enough job in anything,'' Schwartz said. ''Whether it was the run game, the pass game, defense, special teams. We need to play better in all phases. We left a lot of opportunities on the field.''

The 49ers dominated on both sides of the ball 11 months to the day after rallying for a 25-19 win at Ford Field to hand Detroit its first defeat following a 5-0 start. It ended with excitable Harbaugh's firm handshake and backslap that ignited Lions coach Schwartz — and they had to be separated leaving the field.

There were some hot tempers Sunday, too. After Davis and Delanie Walker drove Cliff Avril to the sideline while blocking on a running play, Avril kicked Walker in the helmet. Lions right tackle Gosder Cherilus and 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown pushed and shoved after a big hit by Patrick Willis on Johnson in the first quarter.

Smith exploited Detroit's depleted, frustrated secondary at every opportunity. On his TD, Davis easily beat Wendling, starting as regular safety Louis Delmas recovers from knee surgery.

Smith hit Michael Crabtree on the left sideline for a 17-yard gain, then Davis scored on the next play. The Lions were without rookie cornerback Bill Bentley because of a concussion sustained last week and cornerback Chris Houston with an ankle injury.

David Akers kicked field goals from 36 and 48 yards for San Francisco a week after connecting from 63 yards to tie an NFL record.

Jason Hanson finished with field goals of 38, 41, 40 and 48 yards. He also missed one off the right upright on a 40-yard attempt late in the second quarter. The Lions scored their lone touchdown on Stafford's 9-yard TD pass to Brandon Pettigrew with 1:29 remaining.

''I don't think as an offense we've hit our stride yet,'' Stafford said. ''We moved the ball really well at times today against a really good defense, and we didn't take advantage of our opportunities in the red zone like we need to.''

The 49ers ended their streak of 26 quarters spanning six straight regular-season games without a turnover, and 36 consecutive quarters without a lost fumble since Davis lost one Nov. 6 last year at Washington. San Francisco was trying to match the 2010 Patriots for the NFL record of seven games without a turnover.

After Hanson's first field goal, Kendall Hunter fumbled the kickoff return after being stripped by Tahir Whitehead and Kassim Osgood recovered. It marked the first career lost fumble in 18 games for the second-year halfback.

But Ahmad Brooks batted down a pass on third down in the ensuing series as the Lions had to settle for another field goal.

San Francisco's defense delivered again on Detroit's next series. On third-and-6 from the 20, Stafford threw down the middle of the field with nobody even close and safety Dashon Goldson jumped in for an interception.

''We know what our defense is going to give us,'' Gore said. ''We need to match them.''

A special teams blunder hurt the Lions late in the first quarter when Drayton Florence, another fill-in cornerback, was flagged for running into Akers. That gave the Niners first down at the 12, and Gore scored three plays later 3 seconds into the second quarter.

San Francisco's defense kept Detroit out of the end zone on the Lions' first drive despite a big penalty. Chris Culliver received a debated pass interference from the replacement officials when he tipped a pass intended for Titus Young for a 33-yard penalty.