Pirate Galaxy » d last in her semifinal heat with only the

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Blaine Gabbert had the stage to himself in San Franciscos quarterback competition with Colin Kaepernick nursing a sore shoulder and provided a strong finish to an uneven performance in the exhibition opener.Gabbert overcame a shaky start to throw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald before the Houston Texans rallied in the second half against San Franciscos reserves to beat the 49ers 24-13 on Sunday.There were ups and downs, Gabbert said. But we saw when we got into the groove what we can do as a unit.Brock Osweiler didnt fare as well in his Texans debut, failing to lead Houston to any points in three drives. Houston got on the board early when John Simon returned a fumble by Carlos Hyde 41 yards for a touchdown but struggled to generate any offense with its starters.Was it completely what I wanted tonight? Absolutely not. But rarely is it ever, Osweiler said. I think the biggest thing about tonight is we did some really good things offensively and we know we have some things that we need to work on and grow and get better at.With Kaepernick sitting out with tightness in his throwing shoulder, Gabbert got to make his case in the battle to win San Franciscos starting quarterback job for first-year coach Chip Kelly.Gabbert, who started the final eight games last season, did little to improve his position in the first two drives. He was off-target on his first two passes as San Francisco went three-and-out in 41 seconds on the opening drive and started the game 1 for 6 overall.But he was much more effective on the third drive when he scrambled 13 yards for a first down and then hit McDonald for the long score when Benardrick McKinney slipped in coverage.The good thing is that he did settle down, Kelly said. There were some real positives that we can build on but there were some throws that even if you ask Blaine, hed say he wished he had those back.Gabbert finished 4 for 10 for 63 yards and a touchdown.Osweiler, who signed a $72 million, four-year contract with Houston in the offseason, went 4 for 7 for 27 yards. He took one sack and left for good after throwing an incomplete pass to Braxton Miller on fourth down early in the second quarter.To put on the Texan uniform, and run out of the tunnel as a team for the first time, it was certainly special, Osweiler said.Tom Savage threw two TD passes in the second half for Houston, connecting on a 9-yarder to former California receiver Stephen Anderson and a 9-yarder to Akeem Hunt in the fourth quarter.ROOKIE WATCHTexans: Miller, a third-round pick, had four catches for 34 yards, including an acrobatic 24-yard gain in the third quarter from Savage. First-round pick Will Fuller had just one catch for 4 yards.49ers: First-round DL DeForest Buckner was pushed around a bit in the running game and finished with one solo tackle and two assists.INJURY UPDATETexans: CB A.J. Bouye sat out after injuring his groin Friday in practice and will have an MRI on Monday.49ers: Backup QB Thad Lewis was 12 for 21 for 97 yards before leaving the game with a lower-leg injury. ... DL Arik Armstead sat out the game after being limited last week in practice by a shoulder injury.POSITION BATTLESTexans: DL Christian Covington made a good showing as he got a look with the starters with J.J. Watt sidelined with a back injury. Covington forced the fumble by Hyde that led to Houstons first score.49ers: RT Anthony Davis, who sat out last year in temporary retirement, played with the second string behind Trent Brown in his first game in more than 19 months and was beaten by Eric Lee for a sack late in the first half.QUOTABLETexans: Knowing my family and friends are in the stands really supporting me, that was a dream come true, said Anderson, who grew up in nearby San Jose.49ers: Colin isnt 100 percent, Kelly said. It wouldnt have been fair to put him in and judge him on that competition. Cheap Air Max China . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Discount Air Max 95 . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. http://www.outletairmax95.com/ . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Authentic Air Max 95 Shoes . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Cheap Nike Air Max 95 Online .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. RIO DE JANEIRO -- After all the bad blood, all the debate over Yulia Efimova being allowed to swim at the Olympics, Lilly King was the one wearing gold.The American won the 100-meter breaststroke on Monday night, holding off the reigning world champion from Russia in what some will surely call a victory of clean athletes over the dopers.Efimova arrived in Rio as one of the symbols of the massive Russian doping scandal, an athlete who had already served a 16-month suspension and tested positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.Efimova was initially banned from the Olympics, but that decision was overturned on appeal. King took umbrage at Efimovas finger wag during the semifinals and said she intended to compete clean for the U.S.After staring down Efimova in the ready room and giving her a look of disdain on deck, King led all the way to take the gold with a time of 1 minute, 4.93 seconds.Efimova, who heard a round of boos and a few cheers during the introductions, settled for the silver in 1:05.50. The bronze went to another American, Katie Meili.I really dont know how I even reached the final ... it would have really been the end of a fairytale, a horrible dream, if Id won gold, Efimova said after the race, her face red from crying. But that was all I could do right now.King didnt acknowledge Efimova during a raucous victory celebration. Finally, as the two were picking up their credentials at the side of the deck, King gave her rival a quick pat on the shoulder.It just proves you can compete clean and still come out on top with all the hard work you put in behind the scenes, behind the meet, at practice and weight sessions, King said. There is a way to become the best and do it the right way.Kings victory was part of another big night for the Americans, who also extended their domination in the mens 100 backstroke with Ryan Murphys victory and picked up six medals in all.But it was another stunning disappointment for Missy Franklin, the darling of the London Games. She failed to qualify for the final of the 200 freestyle, extending a mystifying loss of form since turning pro last summer.Hungarys Katinka Hosszu became the first two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, adding the womens 100 backstroke title to her world-record victory in the 400 individual medley.In another rresult sure to stir the doping debate, Chinas Sun Yang captured gold in the mens 200 free.dddddddddddd Two years ago, he served a three-month suspension for taking a banned stimulant.Murphy gave the Americans their sixth straight gold medal in his event, rallying on the return lap to win in 51.97. The Americans last loss in the 100 back came at the 1992 Barcelona Games.Australias Mitch Larkin set the early pace but couldnt hold on. Chinas Xu Jiayu surged to the silver, while another American, David Plummer, stretched for the bronze -- just three-hundredths of a second ahead of a fading Larkin.It was quite a moment for Plummer, who finally made his first Olympic team at age 30. Now, hes got his first medal.Hosszu, known as the Iron Lady for her grueling schedule, took the womens back in 58.45. Kathleen Baker of the United States settled for the silver, while Canadas Kylie Masse and Chinas Yuanhui Fu tied for the bronze.Hosszu sat up on the lane rope and made a heart sign in the direction of her coach and husband, Shane Tusup.Yang rallied from his customarily slow start to pass South Africas Chas le Clos and hold off American Conor Dwyer, touching the wall in 1:44.65.Le Clos, who recently announced that that both of his parents are battling cancer, went out with a totally different strategy. He built a body-length lead over the entire field and tried to hang on. It nearly worked.Yang surged to the front, but Le Clos managed to grab the silver. The bronze went to Dwyer.Franklin finished last in her semifinal heat with only the 13th-fastest time among 16 swimmers. She touched in 1:57.56, which was actually slower than her time in the afternoon preliminaries.As a bubbly, 17-year-old high schooler, Franklin won four golds and a bronze at the London Games. But shes endured a mystifying loss of form since turning pro last summer, struggling just to qualify for two individual events and a relay at the U.S. trials.In 2012, Franklin competed in seven Olympic events.Now, all shes got left is the 200 backstroke and a likely spot on the 4x200 free relay team.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . ' ' '