Although its been a terribly difficult week for North Dakota State, the top-ranked Bison are doing their best to try and stay focused heading into a tough rivalry matchup.Its uncertain whether backup running back and special teamer Chase Morlock will play against South Dakota State after his father passed away last weekend following a battle with cancer. Its a loss that has hit the entire NDSU family, according to coach Chris Klieman.Theres no coaching 101 manual. Well do everything we can (to prepare), Klieman confessed. We have a tremendous administration, a great bunch of assistant coaches and resilient players with everything theyve been through. Well take it day-by-day.The heavy-hearted Bison are hoping to retain the trophy in the 13th annual Dakota Marker game on Saturday. Theyre going after their ninth consecutive victory over the 11th-ranked Jackrabbits and 15th straight win overall, which would be the second longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history behind its own 33-game run from 2012-14.The Bison (5-0, 2-0), however, are facing a difficult challenge against Taryn Christion and a visiting South Dakota State team that ranks fourth in the nation at 45 points per game and 15th with 461.4 total yards. Christion ranks fourth nationally with 327.4 passing yards per game after he threw for a school-record 466 and five touchdowns in a 51-32 win at Southern Illinois.The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 20 TDs with one interception in 173 attempts this season. Christion has benefited from an outstanding receiver tandem in Jake Wieneke, who has 33 receptions for 595 yards with 10 touchdowns, and Dallas Goedert, who has 34 catches for 561 yards and eight scores.(Christion) does it all and hes playing with a lot of confidence, Klieman said. Theyre putting a lot of points on the board and even in their losses, hes played extremely well. What Im so impressed with is how well he throws the deep ball. He has tremendous accuracy, tremendous loft on the ball and puts it in position for their playmakers.Kliemans squad ranks second in the conference with 313.2 yards allowed per game, but is only sixth against the pass. The Bison are coming off perhaps their best defensive effort last weekend when they limited Missouri State to 176 total yards and just 30 on the ground in a 27-3 road victory.Offensively, NDSU will likely lean on King Frazier after the senior running back finished with a season-high 126 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against the Bears. Frazier, who had 44 yards and a score on 14 attempts in last seasons 28-7 win over SDSU, is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has a touchdown in four of the teams five games.That certainly doesnt bode well for the Jackrabbits (3-2, 2-0), who rank second to last in the MVFC with 206 rushing yards allowed per game.Theyre what everyone wants to be when you try to run the football, SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said. They just dominate you in time of possession, wear you down and get points when they need them.The Bison held the Jackrabbits to minus-4 yards rushing in last years conference opener to grab a 59-40-5 advantage in the all-time series. SDSUs 25-24 win in 2008 marked its first in Fargo since 1962 and represents its only victory over the past 28 road meetings.The North Dakota State game has become a tremendous rivalry, Stiegelmeier added. The Border Marker trophy, the intensity, the playoffs, the conference championship -- all those things come together. I know its early in the season, but its going to be a fun game.---RANKED SHOWDOWN IN YOUNGSTOWN=Sack-crazy Youngstown State (4-1, 2-0) goes after its fourth straight win and first 3-0 start in league play since 2013 on Saturday night when it hosts No. 21 Northern Iowa (2-3, 1-1).The 14th-ranked Penguins are getting it done with the MVFCs top defense (290.8 yards allowed per game). They held Illinois State to just 250 total yards and its lowest point total since Oct. 6, 2012 in Saturdays 20-6 road win.YSU had six more sacks against the Redbirds, increasing their season total to 19. The Penguins are now tied for third in the FCS with 3.8 per game. Derek Rivers ranks second in the conference with seven sacks, while Avery Moss has five.Theyll try to corral Northern Iowa quarterback Aaron Bailey, who has thrown for 838 yards and six touchdowns against only one interception. The senior also has rushed for 416 yards and six scores.They have a dual-threat quarterback in Bailey. Hes a good player. They have some skill and theyll give you a couple different looks, said YSU coach Bo Pelini, whose squad is the only FCS program that hasnt allowed a rushing touchdown this season. Its going to be important that were all on the same page and guys are able to adjust to formations.The Panthers have won 12 of the past 13 meetings, though this is the first since a 22-20 home victory on a last-second field goal in 2013. They enter this one having dropped three of four since a season-opening 25-20 win at Iowa State on Sept. 3.This is a heck of a test for us at a critical time, coach Mark Farley said. This is one of the best football teams in the (FCS) -- I promise you that. Wholesale Nike KD Shoes Online . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Discount KD Shoes . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. http://www.kdcheap.com/ . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Wholesale KD Shoes . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Cheap KD Shoes Sale . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records.Sorely needing right-handed power in their batting order, the New York Yankees turned back the clock to add a player who was a core part of their 2001 through 2003 playoff teams. Numbers Game looks at the Yankees acquiring Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees Get: LF Alfonso Soriano. Soriano, 37, has his flaws -- chief among them, poor plate discipline that leads to a low on-base percentage -- but he remains a productive power hitter and the Yankees, desperate for anything resembling pop from the right side of the plate, acquired him in the hopes that his power would bring life to their struggling lineup. This season had largely been a struggle for Soriano until late June. Through his first 72 games, Soriano hit seven home runs, with 30 RBI, hitting .245 with a .666 OPS. In the 21 games since, Soriano has slugged 10 homers and driven in 21 runs, batting .286 with a 1.014 OPS in 21 games. Despite that recent power surge, Soriano is still an on-base liability, as his .287 on-base percentage represents the lowest mark of his career (for a season in which he played at least 25 games). With so many players on the injured list for most of the season, including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis, the Yankees have, not surprisingly, struggled offensively. The Yankees currently rank 12th in the American League in runs scored (395), 14th in home runs (88) and 14th in OPS (.678), the latter two categories ranking only ahead of the Houston Astros, a team with an Opening Day payroll of about $26-million, or less than the $28-million that the Yankees owed A-Rod to not play for them this season. As bad as the overall struggles have been for the Yankees offence, its dramatically worse from the right side of the plate. The top right-handed power threat in the Yankees lineup has been LF Vernon Wells, who has 10 home runs, hitting .240 with a .654 OPS. As if those numbers arent bad enough, Wells last home run was May 15, so hes currently gone 182 at-bats since his last home run; remember, this is the most productive right-handed hitter in the Yankees lineup this season. Wells can platoon with Travis Hafner at designated hitter and fill in as an extra outfielder for the rest of this season. While advancedd metrics, like Ultimate Zone Rating, have reflected favourably on Sorianos defence in recent years, there are questions about sample size particularly as it pertains to outfielders, so its probably reasonable not to expect too much from Soriano in the field at this stage of his career.dddddddddddd According to ESPN, the Cubs will pay about $17.7 million of the $24.5 million due to Soriano through the end of next season. If that means Soriano fills a depth role next season as well, as a designated hitter and extra outfielder, the cost isnt necessarily prohibitive. Desperate times call for desperate measures, though, and the Yankees punchless attack leaves them 6.5-games behind Boston for the American League East lead. Something had to be done and, even if Soriano isnt the most complete player at this point of his career, hes an upgrade on what the Yankees have been trotting out on an everyday basis; it would be difficult to be worse. The Cubs Get: RHP Corey Black. Black is a 21-year-old who was drafted in the fourth round last summer out of Faulkner University. In 19 starts for Single-A Tampa this season, Black is 3-8 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.50 WHIP, but he has struck out 88 in 82 2/3 IP. His trouble appears to be command, as hes walked 45. Hes only 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, but Black has an overpowering fastball that gets up into the mid-90s. With further development, which has to include improved control, he could turn into a power bullpen arm for the Cubs. As the Cubs play out the string this year, there will be chances for players to audition in left field. Soriano has played 86 of 100 games in left field, so no one else has really seen significant time there. Junior Lake, a 23-year-old who was recently called up (hitting .484 with a 1.284 OPS in his first seven MLB games) has been playing mostly centre field, but he played infield in the minors and played left field in Sorianos absence Thursday, so Lake would seem the best bet to get regular playing time ahead of the Cubs cast of journeymen outfielders that includes Julio Borbon, Cole Gillespie and Dave Sappelt. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '