Das Samples Portal » — the second-best mark in the American League

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. The veteran backup is certainly qualified to speak on the topic, having received a crash course on it over the past 15 months. Jennings will make his second start of the season Sunday against the New York Giants while Darren McFadden rests his sore hamstring. He also started six games for Jacksonville in 2012 while Maurice Jones-Drew was sidelined with a foot injury. The message Jennings delivered? Dont wait or its too late. "When I was in high school I kept a quote: When opportunity presents itself, its too late to prepare for it," Jennings said. "So every day be prepared to be that guy." Thats been the case for Jennings, who has been a jack-of-all-trades in his first season with the Raiders. Besides filling in for McFadden, hes blocked two punts and recovered an onside kick on special teams this season. Despite his part-time status, Jennings is also the only Oakland player to catch more than six passes in a game this season. He had eight against Washington on Sept. 29 after McFadden left that game injured, then grabbed another seven in last weeks 49-20 loss to Philadelphia. When McFadden got hurt last week against Philadelphia, Jennings responded with his first 100-yard game in nearly three years. "It just goes back to the mental preparation and trying to put yourself in the game," Jennings said. "You never know when youre going to get called, you really dont. I dont think thats coined as much as its really said and its kind of passed over. But you dont know, you never know. So make sure youre ready." Jennings game against the Eagles marked just the second time this season that an Oakland running back has topped the century mark. McFadden ran for 129 yards against Jacksonville in Week 2 but has been mostly ineffective and is averaging just 3.6 yards a carry. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who has a pair of 100-yard rushing games this season, has given the ground game a lift. He leads the team with 485 yards rushing and is the primary reason the Raiders have the fourth-ranked running offence. Jennings would be content with anything as long as Oakland wins. The Raiders (3-5) play four of their next five games on the road and are just 7-25 in November since 2005. McFadden didnt accompany the team on its trip to New York. Neither did right tackle Matt McCants, who has a foot injury. McCants injury means second-round pick Menelik Watson will make his first start in New York, one week after making his NFL debut. Hell also be the third different starting right tackle Oakland has used this season. "Obviously, hes gotten limited exposure but we have confidence in him," Raiders coach Dennis Allen said Friday. "Really, thats what your job is. When youre called upon to go in and do a job, you have to go in and do the job. Thats the way of the National Football League." Rookie nickelback D.J. Hayden will also be held out of the game. Oaklands first-round draft pick injured a groin muscle earlier this week and has been held out of practice each of the past two days. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org Josh Onomah Jersey . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Vincent Janssen Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. http://www.hotspurfcproshop.com/moussa-sissoko-hotspur-jersey-uk/ . 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From time to time, hell move over to the side and will weigh in with a quick tip or two. Its a comfortable approach that has paid dividends for the American League East division leaders, who boast an offence that is among the best in Major League Baseball. "I think hes hands on when he needs to and he sits back and he watches when he needs to too," said Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz. "We have a lot of good hitters here and with good hitters comes success and some streakiness. "He does a good job of limiting the bad streaks and extending the good streaks." The teams offensive statistics over the first two months of the campaign have been eye-opening. Entering Wednesdays games, the Blue Jays led the major leagues in home runs (83) and were second in runs scored (296), RBIs (281), slugging percentage (.451), hits (534) and OPS (on-base plus slugging — .784). Toronto was also tied for second in on-base percentage (.333) and sat fifth in team batting average (.264). Seitzer keeps a close eye on all the numbers but values some statistical categories more than others. "Runs scored is the one Im most concerned about," he said. "If youre scoring runs, whether you do it by home runs, situational hitting, youve got to be able to get on base, draw walks, be able to move runners and get big hits when guys are in scoring position. "It kind of encompasses everything really." The 52-year-old native of Springfield, Ill., was hired by the Blue Jays last fall after spending parts of five seasons as a hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. He succeeded Chad Mottola, who spent one year in the position. Seitzer, a two-time all-star as a player, had a .295 career average over 12 seasons with the Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians. As a coach, he has preached the importance of preparation and making hard, consistent contact in the box. "Have an idea of what the pitcher has got and what hess going to try to do, and then what each guy needs to do in order to have the best chance to succeed," he said of his approach.dddddddddddd "I like to keep things simple. I dont like it complicated, they dont want it complicated. "Theyve made really good adjustments so far." The power portion of the Toronto lineup has delivered so far with sluggers Edwin Encarnacion (.272 average, 19 homers, 50 RBIs) and Jose Bautista (.310, 14 homers, 41 RBIs) on pace for big seasons. Among the other notable performances, first baseman Adam Lind is batting .347 while Melky Cabrera has a .303 average. Juan Francisco is hitting .276 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in just 36 games. As for that important runs scored category, three Toronto players are in the top 15 in the major leagues: Bautista (44 - tied for fourth), Encarnacion (41 - tied for seventh) and Cabrera (37 - tied for 14th). Those numbers are a big reason why Toronto took a 35-24 record — the second-best mark in the American League — into Wednesdays game at Detroit. Its a big step up from this time last year, when the Blue Jays were last in the East at 24-34. "Its been phenomenal," Seitzer said of the teams effort. "If youre in first place after the first third, then the second third and the third one, then youre right where you need to be. So I couldnt ask for more right now." The 2013 Blue Jays posted decent offensive numbers despite their poor 74-88 record. The team was ninth in runs scored (712), fourth in homers (185), 11th in RBIs (669), eighth in slugging percentage (.411) and 15th in batting average (.252). While Seitzer deserves his share of the credit for the improvement, hes quick to praise the players for their professional approach and effort. He has been very impressed with what hes seen so far. "Probably the most (impressive thing) is the talent level and then secondly, their work ethic and preparation going in," he said. "When you have that combination and the ability to make adjustments along the way, youve got a chance to do some damage every night. Theyve been doing great." ' ' '