NAPA, Calif. -- Latavius Murray is counting on more help at running back leading to more big runs of his own this season for the Oakland Raiders.After topping 1,000 yards rushing and going to the Pro Bowl as an alternate while carrying almost the entire running load for the Oakland Raiders last season, Murray believes he can have an even more productive bigger year this season because the Raiders added rookie DeAndre Washington and other potential runners to the mix.Thats going to be the difference this year for me, having somebody to come in and carry the load for a little while and keep me fresh so when I come in I can do better things and have more of those explosive and big runs that I showed I can have, Murray said.Murray got little relief last season when he ranked fourth in the NFL among all backs with 680 offensive snaps. Recently released Roy Helu Jr. was second among Raiders halfbacks with 91 offensive snaps as Oakland was the only team in the NFL that did not have at least two halfbacks play 100 or more snaps.That heavy workload for a player for a player with just 82 carries his first two years in the NFL contributed to Murray having decreased production and late in the season.Murrays yards per carry dropped from 4.8 yards the first eight games to 3.3 over the second half of the season. It also appeared to take a toll in games as Murray averaged just 2.2 yards per carry in the fourth quarter, down more than 2 yards a carry from the first three quarters.I think over the course of the season that it just may catch up to you, he said. There are just going to be those days where obviously Im maybe not as fresh or explosive every single Sunday. Theyve done a great job of getting some other guys in there and showing me this training camp thats the plan for this season and to try to keep me fresh and keep me in a healthy state of mind so I can go out there and be the back I know I can be.Murray finished the season with 266 carries for 1,066 yards and six touchdowns. Oaklands second-leading rusher in 2015 was quarterback Derek Carr with 138 and fullback Jamize Olawale was the only other player to reach even 100 yards rushing for the season with 110.That glaring need for a capable backup runner led the Raiders to draft DeAndre Washington in the fifth round after he rushed for 1,492 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at Texas Tech.Washington has made a good first impression on the Raiders with strong play in camp and a productive exhibition debut. Washington gained 75 yards from scrimmage, juking safety Marqui Christian on a 25-yard run and adding a 32-yard reception to convert a third down.Thats why they brought me in, to create mismatches against opposing defenses, Washington said. On that play, they were guarding me with a d-end so I had to make my money on that play definitely.Washington wasnt the only back who has stood out this summer. George Atkinson had five carries for 97 yards and two scores against the Cardinals and undrafted free agent Jalen Richard has been impressive in practice but sat out the exhibition game with an injury.But with coach Jack Del Rio wanting the Raiders to be a dominant running team after struggling in that area last season, there figure to be plenty of carries to go around for Murray and whoever becomes his backup.I want to have more rushes, Del Rio said. I dont want him to have less. If anything, maybe a little more, but I want him to be more productive. We want other guys to be involved and be able to run it as well. Were working on becoming a team thats capable of running the ball well. We never really, truly established that last year.Game notes The Raiders broke camp Tuesday. They will resume practice at their facility in Alameda after playing an exhibition game at Green Bay on Thursday night. ... Oakland signed free agent TE Jake McGee to replace Gabe Holmes, who could be out for the season with an ankle injury.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Charles Haley Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Daryl Johnston Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. 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PRAGUE -- Vera Caslavska, a seven-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist who stood up against the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, has died. She was 74.The Czech Olympic Committee said Wednesday that Caslavska died in Prague late Tuesday. Caslavska had cancer of the pancreas and underwent surgery last year, the committee previously said. She later had chemotherapy treatment.She was always a great role model to others, said Jiri Kejval, the committees president. Till the last moment, she was full of energy which she managed to pass on to all those around her. We will miss her greatly.Born on May 3, 1942, in Prague, Caslavska claimed her first Olympic medal -- a silver -- at the 1960 Rome Games.Her golden era began four years later.She won three Olympic golds in Tokyo in 1964 -- in the vault, the individual all-round and the balance beam -- to establish herself as a major force in her sport.Four years later, Caslavska became an outspoken supporter of Alexander Dubceks liberal reforms meant to lead toward democratization of communist Czechoslovakia, an era known as the Prague Spring. She signed the Two Thousand Words manifesto published in June 1968 that called for deeper pro-democratic changes. That document angered Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who ordered the Warsaw Pacts troops to invade Czechoslovakia to crush the reforms in August.Facing possible persecution, Caslavska went into hiding and was allowed only just before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to join the national gymnastics team.She triumphed in four disciplines, winning the Olympic gold in the vault, the individual all-round, the floor exercise and the uneven bars. With anothher two silver medals at the 1968 Games, she became the top medalist and was later named the worlds best female athlete of the year.ddddddddddddFor many, she will be remembered for her silent protest against the Soviet invasion. Standing on the top of the medal stand alongside Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, with whom she shared the gold in the floor exercise, Caslavska turned her head down and to the right when the Soviet national anthem was played.Combined with her gymnastic performances, the gesture made her the star of the games.At home, Caslavska faced persecution from the post-invasion hard-line communist regime. It wasnt until 1974 that she was allowed to work as coach in her country and later, in 1979-81, in Mexico.After the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution led by Vaclav Havel ended more than 40 years of communism, Caslavska became Havels adviser and was elected the president of the Czechoslovak and later of the Czech Olympic Committee. In 1995-2001, she was a member of the International Olympic Committee.She received the U.N.s Pierre de Coubertin Prize for promoting fair play in 1989 and was also awarded the Olympic Order.In a personal setback, her marriage with Josef Odlozil, an athlete whom she married during the Mexico Games, ended in the 1980s. Her son, Martin, was found guilty of assault that led to his fathers death in 1993 and was sentenced to four years in prison. Although he was soon pardoned by Havel, Caslavska had to undergo treatment for depression and withdrew temporarily from the public life. ' ' '