Pirate Galaxy » Bulls through the early part of the seaso

FORT WORTH, Texas --?TCU?coach Gary Patterson has a deadline in mind for deciding his quarterback battle between Kenny Hill and Foster Sawyer.Patterson said Wednesday during TCUs preseason media day hell name his starter around 10 days before the Horned Frogs season opener against?South Dakota State.If its before then, because it becomes very obvious who it is, then itll be before then, Patterson said. You have to name a guy about nine or 10 days out. You cant go any later than that.Patterson said his coaching staff traditionally breaks from fall camp and shifts its attention to the first game plan on the Wednesday before the seasons opening week, which would be Aug. 24. That gives Hill and Sawyer three weeks to prove who is the better candidate to replace former Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Trevone Boykin.Hill, a?Texas A&M?transfer who sat out last season, was named the Big 12s preseason Newcomer of the Year by conference media last month. But TCU coaches have not named him the front-runner.You just go in and try to get better every day, Hill said. Im just trying to play the best I can and be consistent, thats the biggest thing. Be consistent from day to day and just keep growing as a player every day.Sawyer, a sophomore who started one game last season, is entering his third year in the program and says he and Hill will support each other no matter who emerges as the starter.I just focus on the team and the task at hand, and thats to win championships, Sawyer said.TCU co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sonny Cumbie said the battle between Hill and Sawyer is 50-50 in his mind, and closer than many might think.Both of them are really motivated, Cumbie said. This summer, you could tell theres a difference in how they approached the weight room and throwing. Foster is bigger, throws the ball really well, moves around well. Kenny is a little more elusive but is still accurate, gets the ball out of his hand quickly.Patterson said he knows that no matter who wins the starting job, the Horned Frogs will need both passers to be ready to lead the offense. Nine out of 10 Big 12 teams dealt with injuries at the quarterback position last season. The lone exception,?Iowa State, benched its starter at midseason.You watch everybody in the league, you cant just have one quarterback and win a championship around this place, Patterson said. Nobody was able to do that last year.Patterson has said TCUs battle will be decided by how each QB performs in scrimmage situations this month. Co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham said he is confident his players are comfortable being led by either passer. Both quarterbacks have shown they can lead. Itll come down to which one is more efficient.We judge a quarterback -- Ive said it once, and Ill say it 100 times -- does he make everybody else better when he steps on the field? Patterson said. Does the offense move better? Doesnt have to be the best athlete. Has to be the guy that makes everybody else go.Whoever makes everybody else go will be the guy that will start it all off. And hopefully well have two of them.Bill Russell Celtics Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Jaylen Brown Celtics Jersey . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Gordon-Hayward-Jersey/ . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Robert Williams Celtics Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Paul Pierce Jersey . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day.PITTSBURGH -- Six Panthers broke into double digit scoring, including Cameron Johnson and Michael Young, who each scored 17 points as Pittsburgh survived a late scare from Buffalo to win, 84-79 Wednesday night.Pitt was looking to move on from a loss to crosstown rival Duquesne and had seemingly done that, going up by 26 points midway through the first half. But the Bulls clawed back with a 16-2 run to end the first half and got as close as one point in the second half.The end-of-half troubles represent something of a trend for Pitt. The same issue cropped up in the previous game.I thought for about 15 minutes to start the game, we played very, very well. We seem to have trouble closing the half, head coach Kevin Stallings said. We show stretches where were capable of being dominant.Pitt (7-2) shot a crisp 54.5 percent from the field, hitting 30 of 55, including 7 of 18 from beyond the arc and 17 of 25 from the line. But there were issues on defense as the Bulls closed the gap.We kind of just took our foot off the gas. That carried over into the second half, said senior forward Sheldon Jeter. I think we just got a little bit complacent.Buffalo (4-5) got 23 points and eight rebounds from forward Nick Perkins, whose move from center from forward to combat Pitts athletic lineup paid dividends. Blake Hamilton also moved to forward and scored 18 as Buffalo shot 49.2 percent (30 of 61).Really, once we got Nick more at the five and played Blake a lot more at the four, we got going and it helped out a lot attacking the press, said head coach Nate Oats.BIG PICTUREBuffalo: C.J. Massinburg played his first game of the season after missing time due to mono and made an immediate impact, scoringg 14 points and providing a much-needed fourth scoring option behind Hamilton, Perkins and Willie Conner.dddddddddddd.Some of the younger guys got some experience while he was out, which I think will help us moving forward, head coach Nate Oats said. We knew we had four scorers. . We really need all four of those guys clicking.Pitt: Senior point guard Jamel Artis returned after serving a one-game suspension for failing to uphold the standards of the team. Artis scored 16 points and made the Pitt offense flow significantly better than it had against the Dukes. The Panthers had 20 assists on 30 baskets, including three from Artis.STAT OF THE NIGHTTurnovers have plagued the Bulls through the early part of the season. They came into the game with an average turnover margin of -5.3, but reversed that trend against Pitt, turning the ball over eight times while grabbing 10 steals from the Panthers.ROLE PLAYERPitt was outscored off the bench, 22-11 and their contributions lacked depth, as all 11 came from forward Ryan Luther. As a result of the ineffective bench, Stallings played four players more than 32 minutes.UP NEXT?Buffalo: Will return home for a date with Coppin State on Saturday. The Bulls have played just one home game so far this season, a 85-38 win over Nazareth on Nov. 17. Buffalo went 2-4 in its just-completed six-game road swing.Pitt: Travels to Newark, New Jersey to face Penn State in the neutral-site Never Forget Tribute Classic. The traditional rivals have played 146 times, but not since 2013. Pitt has won its last six games against Penn State. ' ' '