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Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - It has been a long 368 days for Oakland, but there was finally joy at the Black Hole on Thursday night. Rookie quarterback Derek Carr led the way as the Raiders put an end to their 16-game losing streak with a thrilling 24-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Carrs late touchdown pass to James Jones capped off a lengthy drive that proved to be the difference as the Raiders (1-10) won their first game since Nov. 17, 2013 against Houston. Latavius Murray rushed for two touchdowns and 112 yards on four carries before departing after the first half with a concussion. Carr threw for 174 yards on an 18-of-35 completion rate in the win. I cant wait to see my teammates smile, Carr said shortly after the game ended. Alex Smith completed 20-of-36 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns and Jamaal Charles ran 19 times for 80 yards while also adding a receiving score for the Chiefs (7-4), who were coming off a 24-20 win over Seattle. We gotta handle this the right way. We gotta build from it, said Smith. We can regroup and get it together. We still have a lot of time in front of us. The Raiders put together an impressive 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that chewed 7:21 off the clock. Carr kept the march alive with a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1. Mychal Rivera made an 8-yard catch for a first down and a defensive pass interference call moved the Raiders to the Chiefs 20. After two short runs from Marcel Reese, Carr moved the chains with a sneak. James Jones made a quick double move and was open in the middle of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown. DeAnthony Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards. Frankie Hammond made a 7-yard catch on second down, but Smith threw back-to-back incompletions to turn the ball over on downs. Carr then kneeled to run out the clock. Sebastian Janikowski split the uprights from 40 yards out to give the Raiders a 17-3 lead with 5:05 to play in the third quarter. The Chiefs, however, answered back with a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive to get within a score. Smith completed all five of his pass attempts, with the final one going to Anthony Fasano, who capped the drive with a 19-yard score. On Kansas Citys next drive, Travis Kelce made a 27-yard grab, Dwayne Bowe made a 24-yard catch down to Oaklands 24 and Charles caught a 30-yard touchdown pass over the middle to tie the game early in the fourth. Oakland failed to get a first down on the following possession and Kansas City seized the lead after Albert Wilsons 23-yard catch placed the Chiefs in their opponents territory and Cairo Santos kicked a 25-yard field goal for a 20-17 game. After Kansas City went three-and-out on its first two drives, Oakland got on the scoreboard with an 8-play, 60-yard march. Jones and Brice Butler each hauled in passes of 11 and 10 yards on third down to move the Raiders to their opponents 11. Murray found the corner and darted down the left sideline for an 11-yard score. The Chiefs moved into Oakland territory early in the second quarter, but Charles was bottled up for a 12-yard loss and two penalties forced a fourth straight punt. On the very next play from scrimmage, Murray broke through a hole up the middle and burned multiple Kansas City defenders en route to a 90-yard score for a 14-0 lead. Denarius Moore muffed Dustin Colquitts punt and Frank Zombo recovered the ball to set the Chiefs up at Oaklands 11. The Raiders defense came up big as Brandian Ross broke up Smiths pass over the middle and Kansas City settled for a 24-yard Santos field goal with 7:19 to play in the first half. Game Notes Murrays first rushing TD was the first allowed all season by the Chiefs ... Raiders safety Charles Woodson is now the first player in NFL history to record 50 interceptions and 20 sacks ... Janikowski moved into 14th place all- time with 357 field goals, passing Olindo Mare and current 49ers kicker Phil Dawson ... Smith hasnt thrown an interception in six straight games ... Oakland held a Hall of Fame ring ceremony at halftime for punter Ray Guy ... The two teams will play again on Dec. 14 in Kansas City ... Woodson returned his first punt since Oct. 18, 2009 ... Charles now has 10,006 career combined yards to rank third in franchise history. Vin Baker Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. Rashad Vaughn Jersey . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia. www.nbabucksproshop.com/Customized/.ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys .55 million euros (US$18.6 million) to Spanish tax authorities on Monday to cover any potential irregularities in its signing of Neymar, all the while maintaining its innocence of the fraud charges levied against it. Jabari Parker Jersey . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga.What made the 85 Jays extra special was the relative dearth of mercenaries. The eventual 1992/1993 championship squads will always have a place in our memories and civic pride, but the teams were filled with free agent assassins. Those 1980s powder blue warriors claim a place a little deeper, a little less diminished by time, because we were emotionally invested in each players trajectory. A Toronto team hasnt been built that way in a long time.(*Authors Note: Before I cue the obvious comparison, let me state plainly for the record: I am a fan of the Toronto Basketball Club but I HATE THE NAME "RAPTORS". I will suppress my urge to call them by their eventual, rightful name — the Toronto Towers — just to avoid confusion. But understand, every time I type "Raptors", I die a little.)Even in the face of this linguistic predicament, these Raptors have won me over. They are thriving in a delightfully familiar manner, with a buoyant, tough-minded, youthful sense of potential. Like a devoted dog, thought lost for days, scratching at our doorstep impossibly, exhausted, muddied...could it be? Could these upstart Raptors be the generational descendants of the 1985 Jays?Lets ask the pertinent questions, get out the red pen, and assign the grades.Where in the teams history does the season fall?85 BLUE JAYS: A ripe scenario coupled a weary, winner-less town with a franchise still relatively fresh in its ninth season. Mired in expansion doldrums for its first half decade, in 1982, the Blue Jays began an ascent from seventh to sixth place (of a seven-team division). In 1983, it moved into 4th place, winning 89 games, a feat replicated in 1984. 1985 was something new. The club won 99 games (a .615 winning percentage) — more victories than the future World Series teams — and it would stand until today as the greatest record in team history. No Blue Jays, Raptors or Maple Leafs team has had a better winning percentage since the 1934/35 Leafs (30 wins in a 48-game season).14 RAPTORS: This particular comparison would have lined up better for the Wince (not a typo) Carter-era team, had it made good on its promise in 2001, during the teams sixth season. Now 19 years old, the Raptors arent so green. Still, Torontos weariness from being mired in a decades-long losing streak across all major team sports, engulfs the city as it did back then. Further compelling the argument for similarity, is the Raptors current 45-32 record (a .584 winning percentage), which is the best in franchise history.COMPARISON GRADE: C+How skilled and well-loved are the players, and how do they compare with the talent in the league?85 BLUE JAYS: No surprise the best regular season team in Blue Jays history was arguably the most talented. Stacked with classic Jays in their primes, which included starters Dave Stieb and Jimmy Key, emerging closer Tom Henke, the best young outfield in baseball in Lloyd Moseby, George Bell and Jesse Barfield, and eventually-iconic infielders Tony Fernandez and Ernie Whitt, each one was either raised through the system or had their first taste of big league success in Toronto. The city got to watch the talent grow. To that end, not a single player made a million dollars in 1985. All Star Jimmy Key made $131,000. Tom Henke would get votes for MVP...on a $60,000 stipend. The league competition was also first-rate — peep the opposing lineups — as the American League was on the upswing, with Kansas City poised to claim the ALs third consecutive title (the AL would win 8 of 11 going forward).14 RAPTORS: The competition is, uh, less fierce. Beyond the general talent deficit in todays NBA (a column Ill be publishing soon), the Raptors Eastern Conference is particularly woeful. Despite Miamis recent prosperity, the East has won only 5 of the past 15 titles, and will be sending at least one sub-.500 team to the big dance this year (and possibly two). In the West, Memphis could finish 50-32 and still miss the postseason.Putting aside the lesser competition, a different story emerges. Like those early Jays, the Raptors have players worth rallying around. Homegrown DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Jonas "Wasaga" Valanciunas are legit NBA starters capturing the imaginations of wide-eyed fans. Kyle Lowry and Amir Johnson play the game hard and are easy to root for, as is the surprisingly deep bench. The teams burgeoning continuity is the key ingredient as it was with the Jays: fans getting to root as their local talent grows and matures and succeeds (Gallay derisively glares towards south Florida). Even with the team headed towards their greatest season yet, not a single Raptor is even making a modest ten million dollars a year. (A tumbleweed blows across the screen.)COMPARISON GRADE: C+How were the Leafs, arbiters of the citys sports fortunes, doing at the same time?85 BLUE JAYS: As the 1985 baseball season was kicking off, the NHL season was winding down. Mercifully. The Leafs would finish 20-52-8, the worst season in franchise history (before or since). No surprise. They hadnt posted a winning record in six years. Russ Courtnall, Al Iafrate, Gary Leeman and Steve Thomas were rookies whhich gave the team hope, and they would make the playoffs the following year.dddddddddddd. (In 1986, the Maple Leafs qualified by winning a shameful 25 of 80 games because 16 of 21 teams made the playoffs. Not making the playoffs was the NHL equivalent of being picked last in gym.)14 RAPTORS: Similarly, the past several years have not been kind. After a team record seven consecutive seasons outside the playoff ranks, the blue and white made the postseason last year — defying the advanced metrics — but look to be on the outside once again in 2014. There is hope for the future despite a tumultuous plunge in the final months. But hey, lets not nitpick too much, in both eras the Leafs werent in the playoffs, hadnt had much success in the preceding years, and no sober fan in the Big Smoke had any illusions that the Cup was changing downtown addresses soon.COMPARISON GRADE: BHow confident are fans in the coaching staff and front office?85 BLUE JAYS: Bobby Cox — a Hall of Famer as of July 27, 2014 — was the manager. He took a mediocre team in 1982 and turned it into the best team in the league. He had done it before in Atlanta. He would do it again in Atlanta. He would win Manager of the Year in 1985, and though his departure upset fans, he was offered a ton of money and the GM job he coveted. The 44-year old Cox and GM Pat Gillick — who would ultimately put together the talent for back to back World Series wins — were as savvy a tandem as the city had seen. Most importantly, they had our confidence.14 RAPTORS: 56-year old coach Dwane Casey grew up in Kentucky, just an eight hour drive from where Bobby Cox—okay, Im gonna stop. Direct comparisons wont work here. Casey did not arrive in Toronto with Coxs pedigree, though he also had one prior championship ring, as an assistant on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Hes made strides each season and the team is proudly a shadow of his no-nonsense, tough-minded attitude. The city likes him, the players trust him. He has a legitimate shot to duplicate Coxs feat and take home Coach of the Year (though my vote would narrowly go to Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix, because I do not understand how the Suns are doing what they are doing). Two more words to add to this section: Rudy Gay. General Manager Masai "Gillick" Ujiri, 2013s NBA Executive of the Year in Denver, has been masterful in his first season at the helm, as demonstrated by the Sacramento overhaul. History will unfurl each mans ultimate place, but the city is rallying around both, and both are succeeding. Most importantly, they have our confidence.COMPARISON GRADE: A-What was going on in Toronto during the season in question?85 BLUE JAYS: In the spring and summer of 1985, Torontonians were preparing for a mayoral election, still several months away. A longtime incumbent, who refused to celebrate the Gay Pride Parade, would be put to the test by a variety of challengers. Ultimately, reigning Mayor Art Eggleton would win out.14 RAPTORS: In the spring and summer of 2014, Torontonians are preparing for a mayoral election, still several months away. A longtime incumbent, who refuses to celebrate the Gay Pride Parade, is to be put to the test by a variety of challengers, assuming a second term wont conflict with his Jimmy Kimmel-related moonlighting. Same old, same old.COMPARISON GRADE: B+All right, pens down.Depending on how you weigh each category, the comparison works out to a solid "B". Not too bad, really. Going in, I didnt think the teams would match up this well.Of course, these grades are neither objective, nor properly weighted, nor were they subject to any advanced algorithmic, Nate Silver-style analyses, but moreover is the baseline, root-level difficulty. This sort of phenomenon doesnt come down to math. It is a familial connection between team and fans. It is emotional.With so many entertainment sources vying for our attentions, a city-wide swoon grows ever less likely. And unlike baseball, where only four teams in 1985 made the playoffs, basketball allows for 16 entrants, with more making the playoffs than getting left behind. Just making the playoffs or winning the division is not in the same stratum as the accomplishments of those 85 Jays, who were playing for a spot in the World Series. These Raptors — seriously we gotta change the name — are greyer in years, and owe us more success if they hope to be revered like Bell and Whitt and Gillick.To capture the ardent fans, the otherwise supportive moniker-loathers, and the bandwagoners alike, a deep playoff run will be necessary. Then maybe, Terrence Ross will grab the torch from George Bell. Maybe this team, despite already having a winning record, is more a version of the rarely-considered 1982 Jays, the ones who first showed promise.Maybe they are just something new.GALLAYS POLL #6How do you think the 2013/2014 Raptors stack up to the 1985 Blue Jays?(A) Theyve won me over, same as the Jays did.( I like where they are headed, but that 1985 team was special, yo.(C) Way too soon for a comparison, if ever.(D) Im not from Toronto. Could not care less. I have the Fireplace Channel on right now. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '