ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders have re-signed offensive line coach Tony Sparano to a two-year contract. The team announced the move Friday before Sparano could have become a coaching free agent next week. Sparano helped oversee a dramatic improvement on Oaklands line in his first season with the Raiders despite numerous injuries to the unit. The Raiders increased their yards per carry from 3.8 to 4.6 this season which ranked sixth in the NFL. The Raiders have decided to keep coach Dennis Allen for a third season despite back-to-back four-win campaigns. Most of the assistants were in the final year of their contracts and the team is deciding which assistants to try to keep. Phil Niekro Jersey .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. Custom Atlanta Braves Jerseys . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/dav...-braves-jersey/. And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Freddie Freeman Jersey . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay. Hank Aaron Jersey . And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night.SPIELBERG, Austria -- Red Bulls hopes for a triumph on its home circuit were dampened Friday as Mercedes regained its dominance in Formula One, clearly setting the pace on the opening day of practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. With Daniel Ricciardos maiden victory in Canada two weeks ago, Red Bull ended a six-race winning streak by Mercedes but the Australian driver and his teammate Sebastian Vettel did not come close to matching their rivals speed on the Red Bull Ring. Lewis Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in the second practice. Hamilton completed his best lap on the 4.3-kilometre (2.7-mile) track in 1 minute, 9.542 seconds, topping Rosberg by 0.377. Ferraris Fernando Alonso was almost a second off the lead in third. Vettel came sixth, more than 1.4 seconds behind Hamilton, while Ricciardo posted the eighth fastest time. Mercedes also came 1-2 in the opening practice, with Rosberg beating Hamilton by 0.140. "Its so close between the two of us," Rosberg said about the fight with Hamilton for pole position. "Im hoping we will still have the edge on everybody else. That seems to be the case today." However, Hamilton said he wouldnt mind if Rosberg started in front of him on Sunday. "Hunting definitely brings out the better side," the 2008 F1 champion said. "When you are in front, you feel vulnerable and any mistake you make you are going to be caught." In the morning session, Ricciardo and Vettel came only 13th and 15th respectively. "We clearly did better in the afternoon," Vettel said. "We are not there where we want to be when it comes to speed ... but it will be warmer on Saturday and Sunday and I think that will bring us closer." In the first session, Vettel brought his car back to the garage undamaged following a spectacular incident in the final turn. He came off the track and spun twice on the grass before the car came to a standstill on the track again. "t;That wasnt planned of course," the four-time champion said.dddddddddddd "I went too wide and the wet grass was slippery." Ricciardo also spun on the same spot shortly afterward, prompting team boss Christian Horner to joke "they were just warming up the crowd." "We are trying to find out the limit, and both just came on the grass," said Horner, adding the track was still lacking grip during the first session. "There was also a little bit of rain in the air. Thankfully everything is fine." Rosberg quit his first practice after 19 laps with a minor problem to his hybrid engine, enabling his technicians to fix the problem in time for the afternoons session. The German, however, couldnt keep up with Hamilton this time and didnt hide his anger as he was unaware over engine tests his team was applying on his car toward the end of the second session. "I was suddenly losing power and asked over the radio what was happening," Rosberg said. "Only then they told me they had changed my engine settings." Rosberg leads Hamilton in the drivers standings by 140-118 points going into Sundays race, the first GP in Austria since 2003. Most of the 22 drivers knew the track only from computer simulation. Alonso is one of just four drivers who raced on the track before, alongside McLarens Jenson Button, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen and Williams Felipe Massa. The track is one of the shortest on the F1 calendar and features fast straights and only nine turns. Weather conditions could become an issue in the race as strong winds in the second practice Friday caused several drivers problems, especially on the third and eighth turns. The second session was considerably faster than the first as temperatures went up and teams were able to test their so-called supersoft tires, which helped cut lap times by approximately 0.6 seconds. The third practice is scheduled for Saturday, followed by the qualifying. ' ' '