Cassel likely a game time decision according to Haley

After practice on Thursday, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley remained non-committal to quarterback Matt Cassel’s prospects of starting Sunday’s season opener against Baltimore. “This is going to be a full week of evaluation. It will probably come down to the wire.”

Reports from practice were that Cassel was noticeably limping during two minute drills as he tried to keep up with the offense on the field. After practice, when asked about his knee Cassel said "It's doing well. I'm making a lot of progress. It's one of those things that heals more each and every day."

Cassel said the decision to play won't be his. "We come together and collaborate. If we say that I'm ready to go, I will be out there on Sunday." Expectations all week in the media have been that he will play, but if his mobility is in serious question come game time, the Chiefs would be fools to run him out on the field in the first game.

Jayhawks need to remember South Florida as they prepare for UTEP

As the Kansas football team heads out for their only non-conference matchup on the road, the Jayhawks can only look back to a year ago when they traveled to South Florida and see how important it is to be prepared for your opponents best shot.

Against the South Florida Bulls, the Jayhawks jumped out to a 20-3 halftime lead only to give up 31 unanswered points and fall 37-34 on a field goal as time expired. When it counted in the second half, the defense couldn’t come up with a stop.

Saturday, Kansas faces a UTEP squad that isn’t as highly touted and lost its opener to Buffalo, but the Miners feature a veteran quarterback in Trevor Vittatoe, who’s a three year starter who’s already thrown for over 65 hundred yards in his career. He engineered what appeared to be a game winning 80 yard TD drive at the conclusion of the game against Buffalo only to have a 20 yard scoring pass with :14 seconds left nullified by a holding call.

Former National Coach of the Year Mike Price is in his 6th year at UTEP and has an explosive offense again this year. The Jayhawks put pressure on Northern Colorado quarterback Bryan Waggener last week and recorded three sacks, but the pass defense had it’s breakdowns with four interference calls, three by sophomore corner Anthony Davis.

The bright spot was junior Chris Harris, who’s moved back to safety from cornerback this season and forced a fumble, broke up a pass and recorded seven tackles. But those cornerbacks must improve against an effective passing attack and KU must see continued improvement from the new linebacking corps who coach Mark Mangino said

played hard in the opener but needs to work on tackling and pursuit of the ball.

Todd Reesing didn’t have to throw the ball much last week as Kansas marched up and down the field with their ground game, but with wide out Dezmon Briscoe back in the lineup, you would expect to see the Jayhawks take to the air more this week. With a young line you’d also like to see them continue to show they can run the ball whenever they need.

All things said, this is a game Mangino better make sure his team doesn’t take lightly. They only need to remember their trip to Florida last September.

What we learned in week one of the Big 12

The first week of the football season was certainly enlightening for Big 12 fans. Most visible was the stunning upset of third ranked Oklahoma by number 20 BYU 14-13 in the glistening Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Bigger yet was the loss of Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford to a sprained shoulder.

Bradford won’t need surgery and could be back in two to four weeks, which would mean missing two games since they have an off week. As a capper to losing Bradford for the short term, they’ve lost All-America TE Jermaine Gresham for the season after a knee scope required enough work to put him out for five months.

Biggest winner in the first week was Missouri. The Tigers rolled over Illinois 37-9 with redshirt freshman QB Blaine Gabbert looking like a grizzled veteran as he threw for 319 yards, three TD’s and rushed for a score. Just as impressive was the Mizzou defense, which stuffed the Illini offense and QB Juice Williams, who last year shredded the Tigers for over 400 yards. Missouri’s win was a statement that they expect to be a contender in the Big 12 north.

Other notable games of the week include Oklahoma State’s opening 24-10 win over 13th ranked Georgia. In what turned out to be a defensive contest, the Cowboys shut down the Dawg’s offense after the opening drive of the game and gave OSU a huge statement win in front of a record crowd. Baylor pulled off a big road win 24-21 victory over Wake Forest as QB Robert Griffin lead the Bears to an early 24-7 lead before having to hold on late.

Colorado’s home field loss to in-state rival Colorado State was a huge downer. Coach Dan Hawkins had predicted a 10 win season for the Buffaloes and many people expected them to contend in the north, but the loss, which wasn’t as close as the score, puts Hawkins on the hot seat early.

Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas Tech all did what was expected in week one while Kansas State won a squeaker in Bill Snyder’s return as head coach. They face a tough test on the road next week in their rebuilding process. Iowa State got off to a good start under new head coach Paul Rhoads with a 34-17 win over North Dakota State on Thursday and Texas A&M routed New Mexico 41-6, a good sign for the Aggies.

This week the schedule includes Texas going to Wyoming, Kansas travels to UTEP, Iowa State hosts Iowa and OU plays without Bradford against Idaho State. There shouldn’t be any stunners, but after week one, who knows.

Raiders need an intervention

Is there any organization in sports run worse than the Oakland Raiders? They currently have their head coach under investigation for allegedly assaulting an assistant coach, Their number one draft pick of three years ago, the man who’s supposed to be their franchise quarterback has been an abject failure and they’ve just been fleeced again by the New England Patriots for a future number one draft pick.

Oh yeah and their owner is a raving loon. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stepped in repeatedly and slapped players with fines and suspensions for their off field activities that have brought shame to both themselves and the league, can’t he find a loophole in the league’s by-laws that allow him to take over legal guardianship of the Raiders?

This is like when your parent has reached a point when they can no longer can care for themselves and someone in the family has to step in. Most NFL fans don’t remember that Al Davis was once one of the most dynamic and powerful forces in pro football history as he helped guide the AFL, battle the NFL and build the Raiders from their inception. Yes, he was always rocking the boat, but his teams won. I hated that because I grew up a Chiefs fan. All fans know of now is the scary old man in the silver and black track suits who looks like death warmed over and talks like he’s not there anymore.

The Richard Seymour trade fiasco is just the latest in a line of bizarre actions by the Raiders. They gave away too much for a player who’s past their peak and they have a high likelihood he’ll be gone in a year. Oh yeah, that’s if he reports. That’s worth a number one pick in 2011? What was once a proud franchise is a complete and utter joke.

Cassel back on the practice field

The question on most Kansas City Chiefs fans minds is will Matt Cassel be in the lineup when the Chiefs open the season Sunday in Baltimore against the Ravens? This much we know. Cassel was suited up for practice on Monday with a brace on his injured left knee. The Chiefs had no practice on Tuesday, so they have three more workouts before traveling to Baltimore.

Coach Todd Haley said after practice that he was happy to have Cassel back on the field, but wasn’t making any predictions regarding his availability for Sunday. He basically said Cassel will have to go through a full practice on Friday to be under center in the opener.

If he can’t go, it would appear Brodie Croyle will start in his place as he did in the final exhibition game against St.Louis. Probably half of Kansas City wants Cassel to play, the other half would prefer he stay on the sidelines and not risk getting injured worse against the Ravens aggressive defense.

Given the play of the offensive line in the exhibition season, Haley himself may have huge reservations about playing Cassel this weekend even if he’s healthy, but you’d think he’ll play Sunday if he’s suited up on Monday. Still, the Ravens defense gave up an average of just 10 points a game at home last season, so scoring prospects aren’t good no matter who’s under center or calling the plays.

Meanwhile, if the Chiefs are to have any chance at all against the Ravens, they’ll have to put together a stellar defensive performance, one similar to last season’s opener against the Patriots. Baltimore’s not as explosive an offensive team, but Ravens QB Joe Flacco guided his team to the playoffs as a rookie last season by being steady and not making mistakes. It will be a good test for the defense to see if they can cause havoc and force turnovers, but a win....that would be asking a lot.

On further review, Mangino still happy with the win

As the Kansas football team looks ahead to Saturday Night’s road contest against UTEP, the Jayhawks can savor a solid 49-3 opening weekend victory over Northern Colorado.

Coach Mark Mangino said he was pleased with how the Kansas offense reacted to Northern Colorado’s defensive philosophy of dropping back eight in the secondary and not wanting to get beat deep. The Jayhawks produced the best rushing performance in the conference, piling up 328 yards on the ground, including 123 from Jake Sharp and 79 from QB Todd Reesing. That was a great sign for an offensive line that features three first year starters.

The offense posted 49 points without the services of Dezmon Briscoe at wide receiver who sat out the game as part of a spring suspension, but Kerry Meier was his typical self with five catches for 115 yards. Kansas also unveiled a new offensive look by putting Reesing in the Pistol. Offensive coordinator Ed Warriner called it a good change up.

Mangino said he was pleased overall with the defense and pointed to Chris Harris, Jake Laptad and Darryl Stuckey for having solid games. The new linebacking corps played hard but needs to quit overunning the ball and tackle better, something he said the defense needs to do better as a whole.

The Jayhwks will play a UTEP team that lost to Buffalo at home in their opener 23-17. It’s the first meeting ever between the schools. The Miners thought they’d won their game at the end but had a TD called back on a holding call and then had a potential game winning pass broken up in the end zone as time expired. Kansas has won 17 of its last 19 games against non conference foes but first road games of the year are always scary for any coach.

Oudin just what the New York fans want

When you come to New York for the U.S. Open, you come expecting to hear a loud raucous crowd. One that has survived another sweltering summer in the Big Apple and looking for an underdog to call their own for the two weeks in late August and early September.

This year they’ve found it in 17 year Melanie Oudin. The fireplug from Georgia who’s battled her way to the quarterfinals by knocking off three of the world’s top players, including former Open champ Maria Sharapova. On Labor Day, Oudin sent fans at the Aurthur Ashe Tennis Center into a frenzy with a stirring comeback against Nadia Petrova, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Just five points from victory, Petrova witnessed the comeback kid’s grit first hand as she was unable to turn the momentum after Oudin hit what Petrova called an unbelievable winner. With the New York crowd behind her, the teenager, whose defensive game can wear you down and who was ranked 221st in the world a year ago became the only American other than Serena Williams to reach the quarters.

New Yorkers love a story like Oudin’s. They celebrate career curtain call finishes like those of Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi. They want to see players who show the grit and grime of their city. Those who will get down in the imaginary dirt and fight for a championship even if they fall in the end.

Oudin’s goal coming into the Open was to break into the top 50. Now that she’s reached the quarters and says she’s found she can play with these girls, she’s hoping to become the next American tennis star with an open title in hand. Win or lose in the coming days, she’s staked a claim in a city that celebrates the fighters in sports.