f the front row, with Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray

Kansas or Iowa State will finally win a Big 12 game this week, and that might be the only conference victory for the Jayhawks or Cyclones.Their coaches are rebuilding teams traditionally at the bottom of the Big 12, and both plan to approach Saturdays matchup in Lawrence, Kansas, like they do every other game.Our biggest thing is weve tried to win every football game, and the realistic piece of this is its the next step for us, first-year Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said Monday.The Cyclones and Jayhawks are each 1-8 (0-6 Big 12) with lengthy losing streaks.There are some similarities. Its one of those deals where I think each coach has his own style, Kansas coach David Beaty said on the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference. But really I think the big thing as you watch them, very much like us, if you focus on your team and really try to correct your execution and mistakes, I think thats where a lot of the progress is going to be made.The Jayhawks have lost 18 consecutive Big 12 games since a home win over Iowa State in 2014, their only conference victory that season. They have lost eight games in a row overall after a season-opening 55-6 win over Rhode Island that is Beatys only win in 21 games as Kansas coach.Iowa State is coming off its fifth straight loss , 34-24 at home to Big 12-leading Oklahoma, after which the ninth-ranked Sooners coach Bob Stoops had some complimentary remarks about Campbell.Were certainly starting and working really hard to build our program the right way from the ground up, Campbell said. Thats something that were continuing to be in the process of doing here.Both teams have been close to upsets this season.Four of Iowa States conference losses are by 10 points or less. The Cyclones never trailed at home against then-No. 13 Baylor until the Bears kicked a game-ending field goal to win 45-42.Kansas led by nine points in the fourth quarter against TCU, but the Jayhawks missed three field goals in the fourth quarter. The last miss came in the closing seconds after the Horned Frogs kicked one to go ahead 24-23.Since beating Iowa State in their Big 12 opener in 2009, the Jayhawks are 3-63 in conference games.Some other notes from the Big 12 call:- While Texas has won consecutive games and the players feel very good, coach Charlie Strong said they know they havent played their best football and are looking to improve. The Longhorns host 11th-ranked West Virginia on Saturday and need only one more win to get bowl eligible. We havent even talked about a bowl, Strong said. Were just looking to end the year the right way.- Stoops said it seems to have gone unnoticed that the Sooners played their Thursday night game at Iowa State without 14 players that were on the two-deep roster earlier in the season. But Stoops said the weekend off after the midweek game should really help the team. Cheap MLB Jerseys From China . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Clearance MLB Jerseys . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. RICHMOND, Va. -- Denny Hamlin won the pole Friday for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, racing about 20 miles from where he grew up in Chesterfield, turned a fast last at 122.344 mph in the third round of qualifying to claim his first pole position of the year. Its the 24th pole position of his career and third in 21 tries on the 0.75-mile oval.It also marks the 24th consecutive race Hamlin will start from inside the top 10.We were second and third so many times it was crazy, Hamlin said about his consistently good qualifying but inability to win a pole. We actually looked at the rainouts and its like, `Were going to start seventh because of a rainout and it hurts our average.Hamlin said his average starting position, 6.1, is the best since Jeff Gordon had a 5.0 average in 1995.That was a pretty cool stat to see, he said.The pole was somewhat unexpected, Hamlin said, because he had to run several laps in each round while others ran just one.I thought that for sure we had too many laps on our tires. A lot of guys that we were challenging only had one lap per session. My car didnt really come in that quick so I had to run multiple laps, he said. Earning the pole anyway is promising, he said.Running that fast with so many laps tells us we have a good car for the long run, he said.ddddddddddddKyle Larson will start on the outside of the front row, with Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray in the second row, followed by Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. in the third. The top 10 also includes Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson.Dillon and McMurray are among the drivers hoping to cement a spot in the Chase for the championship that begins next week.HELLO, NEWMAN: Ryan Newman needs a good weekend to qualify for the playoffs, especially after his team was docked 15 points this week for an infraction at Darlington. But didnt make it out of the second round of qualifying and will start 15th on Saturday night.Newman hasnt won in his last 113 starts.THE OTHER EARNHARDT: Dale Earnhardt Jr., isnt racing this weekend, or for the rest of the season, while he recovers from a concussion, but Jeffrey Earnhardt will be in the field. Hell start 40th. Jeff Gordon is once again filling in behind the wheel of Earnhardts No. 88 car.HEAT INDEX: Temperatures in the mid-90s and a triple digit heat index greeted race fans Friday, and are expected again Saturday. ' ' '