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NAPA, Calif. -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. Matt Schaub is showing signs that last years disastrous season in Houston might have been an aberration as he looks in complete command as Oaklands starter. The performance comes in stark contrast to what happened with Matt Flynn last summer. Acquired to be the starter in the off-season, Flynn lacked the necessary arm strength in training camp and ultimately lost his job to Terrelle Pryor before getting cut early in the season. Despite the presence of big-armed rookie Derek Carr, Schaub is showing no signs of giving up the starting position with the Raiders. "Schaubys getting his mojo back," said defensive tackle Antonio Smith, who was a teammate of Schaubs in Houston during his highest and lowest moments as a pro. "Hes getting his confidence back. Hes starting to believe in himself again. "Hes starting to throw with confidence. Those are things you need to be a successful quarterback. You would be surprised just much a mindset is important in this game. ... The moment you are doubting yourself is the moment you start throwing a lot of interceptions and stuff." Thats exactly what happened to Schaub last season with the Texans when he set an NFL record by having an interception returned for a touchdown in four straight games. Schaub threw 14 interceptions in all while losing the starting job to Case Keenum and posting a 73 passer rating that was his lowest in seven seasons as a starter. After starting the season with back-to-back wins, the Texans lost their final 14 games and traded Schaub to the Raiders for a sixth-round draft pick in March. "It was like a snowball effect," Smith said. "A lot of things went wrong early on even though you felt you were playing some good ball. But you had key things happen to you in key moments. Lost a few games, then everybody starting to panic trying to find something wrong. And then things just get all out of whack." Schaub has put 2013 in the past and is focusing instead on reviving his career in Oakland where he is enjoying the opportunity to learn a new offence under co-ordinator Greg Olson after spending seven years running Gary Kubiaks system in Houston. While Schaub lacks the true No. 1 receiver he had in Houston all those years with Andre Johnson, he is excited to work with Oaklands group that includes James Jones, Rod Streater, Denarius Moore and Andre Holmes. "Were still trying to mould what our offence is going to be and what each guys role in it will be," Schaub said. "Well find out what guys do well. What things work, what things we like to do against certain looks and defences. ... Its an exciting chance to get going with this football team and this organization and climb that mountain." Schaub had success during his tenure in Houston, making a pair of Pro Bowls during his seven seasons as a starter. In 2009, he led the NFL in yards passing (4,770), completions (396) and attempts (583) and was fifth in touchdown passes (29). In 2012, he threw for 4,008 yards with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to help Houston to its second straight AFC South title. The Raiders believe he can put up those kinds of numbers again and that he can be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. "I think hes in a good frame of mind," coach Dennis Allen said. "I think hes very hungry. I think hes excited about the new opportunity. I think anytime you go into something new theres a little bit of, maybe its an increased focus, an increased intensity level, because it is new. You kind of force yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit. I think hes done that." Wholesale Senators Jerseys . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament. 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Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze.PHILADELPHIA - FIFA has reiterated that the Womens World Cup will be played on artificial grass in Canada but acknowledges that some surfaces may need to be replaced.Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs head of womens competitions, told a FIFA Live Your Goals Tour news conference Friday that the artificial turf is being tested to make sure it meets standards.We know that Vancouver is an issue, Haenni said of B.C. Place Stadium, which will host the World Cup final among other games. We had some players commenting on that, also from the German national team who have played an international friendly there recently who made some comments.So obviously all those fields will be looked at and theres a potential that some of those fields will have to be changed.There is no plan to go to grass, however, she repeated.The 24-country tournament runs June 6 to July 5 in Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.A group of elite womens players has launched a complaint in the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, alleging that forcing women to play on an artificial surface while the men play their showcase tournament on grass is discriminatory.That complaint, launched against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association, is ccurrently before the tribunal.ddddddddddddFIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke met with players before the recent Ballon DOr presentation in Zurich.The topic should be over by now, said Haenni, noting FIFAs repeated statements that the tournament will go ahead as planned on artificial turf.I also think by now, and I think some players said it as well, at one points theres a time where you need to focus on football and on the event, she added. All those teams and players and coaches want to win that Womens World Cup ... Theres a certain time where you need to focus and you need to accept certain environmental or infrastructural conditions, whatever it is.The World Cup, she stressed, can lead to improved funding, sponsorship and exposure to the womens game.i really hope at one point we can go to those positive messages and forget the turf discussion.Haenni said she is confident that the Canada in 2015 will follow the past trend of each World Cup improving over the last.The players just get better. Theres no way to stop that so the games will be better. Im also convinced because the media coverage, the requests we have had so far have really been tremendous. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter ' ' '