ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Even though Latavius Murray is getting the ball less for the Oakland Raiders, hes doing much more when he has it.With the Raiders finally giving him needed support in the backfield with rookies Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington and fortifying the line with Kelechi Osemele, Murray is off to a fast start this season.Im not in there as much, so it definitely is less taxing on my body. I feel a little fresher, he said. Regardless of when I go in there and how many times I go in there I just have to do what I have to do.While Murray has seen his playing time drop a bit this season, his production has been stellar. He is averaging 5.3 yards per carry with two touchdowns and has gained 86.5 yards from scrimmage per game.That has helped fuel a productive running game with Richard adding a 75-yard touchdown run in the opener and Washington added 46 yards on six carries last week. In all, the Raiders have rushed for 322 yards in two games and are averaging 6.3 yards per carry.I love handing that ball off and all of the sudden you just see them going, quarterback Derek Carr said. I remember, my rookie year for whatever reason, that wasnt the case. Its gotten a little better and then this year its taken off here in the first two games.While Murray had some success last year when he ran for 1,066 yards and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, he appeared to tire as games and the season went on with Oakland having no capable backup tailbacks.Murray averaged just 2.2 yards per carry in the fourth quarter and his production plummeted after the first half of the season. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry the first eight games, compared to 3.3 the final eight.I told him when we had all of these running backs start to play well in training camp wed sit back there and watch and I said, `Man, thats the best thing that ever happened for you, Carr said. He would just laugh because as a competitor he wants every rep. But I said, `Man, just remember thats the best thing that happened to you. Because every ball he gets hes going to be 100 percent fresh.Murray has broken nine tackles already this season on his 29 offensive touches, according to Sports Info Solutions. That 31 percent broken tackle rate far exceeds his mark a year ago when he did it just 12.7 percent of the time.One of those came in the opener when Murray bulled over New Orleans James Laurinaitis for a touchdown run that prompted Carr to call him Angry Tay. That has been part of a concerted effort Murray has made to be more physical in hopes of turning negative plays into positive gainers.This year Im just making sure I use my size to my advantage, breaking tackles trying to run through guys, he said. When that ball is in my hands, whoever is on the other side of the ball becomes the victim of angry Tay.Game notes CB David Amerson was limited after leaving Sundays game with a concussion but coach Jack Del Rio is hopeful he can play this week. ... T Menelik Watson (groin) returned to practice after missing the previous game.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLwholesale jerseys .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. cheap jerseys From China . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.overallcheapjerseys.com/ . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. cheap nfl jerseys . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Cheap Jerseys USA .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Kentucky coach John Calipari figures the sixth-ranked Wildcats and seventh-ranked North Carolina are still sorting through what kind of teams they can be.If thats the case, they both will stick around long into March.The Wildcats got a freshman program-record 47 points from Malik Monk to hold off the Tar Heels 103-100 in a Saturday thriller, the weeks only matchup of top-10 teams from the AP Top 25 . It was a glimpse of the high-level potential for both the freshman-led Wildcats and veteran Tar Heels, two teams that sure looked like Final Four favorites in Las Vegas.Were still trying to figure each other out, Calipari said afterward. Theyre trying to figure each other out. ... If we had lost that game, Id be saying, `Its December 17th, and this is who we are on December 17th against a really good team. Good enough to beat them. Good enough to lose to them. Thats who we are.Now my thing is: where are we going to be one month from now?Monks huge performance -- capped by the go-ahead 3 with 16.7 seconds left -- was so good that fellow rookie DeAaron Foxs 24-point, 10-assist effort went practically unnoticed by comparison.Meanwhile, UNC juniors Justin Jackson (career-high 34 points) and Joel Berry II (23 points and seven assists in return from ankle injury) led a deep offense that ran with the Wildcats like few teams can or will.I mean, we were right there against one of the best teams in the country, and I guess thats all you can take from it, Jackson said. I mean, we kept fighting, which is what Im extremely proud of everybody on that team. And we were right there.As for poll implications, Kentucky could get a bump, while its hard to imagine UNC taking much of a slide after a game that will stand out even when by the time the nets come down in April.STILL ROLLINGTop-ranked and reigning NCAA champion Villanova (11-0) rolled past Temple 78-57 for its 117th straight win Tuesday night.dddddddddddd And Josh Hart followed a 37-point showing against Notre Dame with 26 against the Owls, helping the senior push his way into the race for national player of the year.HOOSIER STATE BATTLESNo. 15 Purdue and No. 18 Butler came out with wins against ranked instate foes in the Crossroads Classic. The Boilermakers beat No. 21 Notre Dame 86-81 , while the Bulldogs beat No. 9 Indiana 83-77 for their second upset of the Hoosiers in four years.OREGON BACK?Oregon started the year at No. 4 but didnt have Dillon Brooks early due to offseason foot surgery and started 2-2. But the No. 22 Ducks have won eight straight after Saturdays 83-63 win against UNLV, with Brooks scoring 20 points in his first start.Leading scorer Chris Boucher sat out with an ankle injury for the Ducks, but the Pac-12 favorite could be making its move back up the rankings.FRESHMAN WATCHWhile Monks performance against UNC stands out, another five-star prospect -- North Carolina States Omer Yurtseven -- made his college debut this week.The NCAA had forced the 7-footer from Turkey to sit out the first nine games amid an eligibility dispute tied to his overseas career. He scored 12 points in his first game Thursday night against Appalachian State, then added 12 more in Sundays win against Fairfield.Yurtseven can shoot from outside and is a good passer, but he has to work on staying out of foul trouble as he adjusts to the American game.Its just adapting to the system, to referees, Yurtseven said after Thursdays win. I had four or five fouls, so Ive got to keep watching that.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '