NORMAN, Okla. -- A wacky weekend in college football renewed Oklahomas seemingly dormant playoff hopes.Oklahoma has rallied from a rough start to the season, and losses by Clemson, Michigan, Washington, Texas A&M and Auburn last Saturday opened up the field for the Sooners to possibly claim one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff if they keep winning. The eighth-ranked Sooners (8-2, 7-0 Big 12) will travel to No. 10 West Virginia (8-1, 5-1) Saturday night with a chance to claim a share of the Big 12 title and remain alive for a second straight playoff berth.Were not looking into that, Oklahoma linebacker Jordan Evans said of the playoff. We see it. Some guys in the back of their mind, maybe. But it doesnt matter if we dont handle our business.Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he doesnt worry too much about other results, though he enjoyed Iowas 14-13 win over Michigan. He played at Iowa and later became an assistant coach there.Im rooting for the Hawkeyes, Stoops said. Absolutely. A big congrats to them. Outside of that, Im not sitting there with my pompoms out.Oklahoma seemingly had no path back to the playoff, but since their early losses to Houston and Ohio State, they have won seven straight. In Big 12 play, the Sooners are averaging 48 points and 591.1 yards per game, both tops in the league.I think we have a ton of guys that were real with themselves, a coaching staff that was real with themselves, offensive tackle Orlando Brown said. Weve all taken it upon ourselves individually, as a group, as a team, as a university, to see what we had to get better at. What we were doing bad, what we were doing good -- we took them and we went from there.The Sooners beat then-No. 25 Baylor 45-24 last Saturday , and West Virginia and Oklahoma State, Oklahomas final two opponents, provide opportunities for quality wins late in the season.All that matters is what weve been doing each and every week, Stoops said. Well be our best Saturday night. Eight Eastern, seven Central, and well be ready to play our best game. Next week will be a different week.Even after the Sooners started winning, a playoff slot wasnt even a thought after the Sooners gave up 854 yards in a 66-59 win over Texas Tech .Only reason I think it (Texas Tech game) was good is we were still able to come out with a win in that game, Evans said. Weve kind of flipped our defense around. It was a good wakeup call for us.Since then, Oklahoma has allowed 51 points combined in wins over Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor. The Sooners have risen to No. 3 in the Big 12 in scoring defense and total defense, No. 2 in pass efficiency defense and No. 1 in rushing defense.It has been a complete U-turn from that game, Evans said. Our intensity, our effort -- guys are making more plays. The number one thing is guys are having more fun doing it. Guys are wanting to get back out there each and every Saturday and wanting to get to practice on Monday to get better and to keep it going.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP Wholesale NFL Jerseys Gear . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Jerseys NFL Wholesale China . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. http://www.nfljerseyschinastore.com/ . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Nike NFL Jerseys China . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. It is quite possible that I have Arnold Palmer to thank for being born. I was reminded of this Sunday night when Palmers passing made headline news.Everyone seems to have a story in their back pocket about their time with The King. While I was fortunate to meet him at his home course -- Latrobe Country Club in Latrobe, Pennsylvania -- during my professional playing days, it was 50 years prior that had the most indirect impact on me, despite my not being alive.My father, Alex Alvarez, a longtime golf pro, reminisced to me about the time he first saw Arnold Palmer play and the effect that would have on his life for years to come.At the 1967 World Cup golf tournament at Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City, Palmer was set to play. My grandmother, Mami Cuy, who loved golf almost more than her children, wanted to see him. My father was 16 years old and played on a national junior soccer team in Mexico at the time. While he had played golf before, it was not his first love. In fact, he argued with my grandmother because she made him miss one of his soccer matches to watch Palmer and Jack Nicklaus represent the United States.My grandmother, more than anything, loved Palmer and was part of Arnies Army. She loved his charisma and character and wanted her son to witness it firsthand. My father had heard of him, but it was on the 13th hole, a long par-3, that my father saw Palmers true character.Palmer had just missed the green and was putting from the fringe.There were no ropes on the course. Hundreds and hundreds of people surrounded the green. Everyone wanted to see Palmer and Nicklaus, my father said.Up to this point, my father had followed Palmers round and was surprised to see how much fun Palmer was having: He was laughing, high-fiving Nicklaus, and smiling and waving at the crowds. I started to realize that golf did not necessarily have to be a stuffy sport.Enchanted, my father crawled through the legs of people so he could get closer to the green and see Palmer finish thee hole.dddddddddddd Next to my father was a young girl about 5 years old who was fidgeting and making noise. When her parents tried to calm her down, she began to cry.At the time, Palmer had just stood over his putt. He backed off, walked across the green, and said to the little girl, Its OK, its just a game.He finished the hole and proceeded to hand the girl the golf ball.For some reason, that moment really struck me. I had never seen such sportsmanship before, and for him to call it just a game made me realize that I took things too seriously, my father said.My father stayed for the trophy presentation that day; Palmer took home individual honors. He also witnessed Palmer stay for a couple of hours afterwards to sign autographs, which left an even greater impression.After this tournament, my father decided to take golf more seriously and was greatly influenced by Palmers character. His name was everything to him, my father said, and he lived with integrity and respect.Because his mother loved Arnie so much, my father became a fan of Nicklaus so they could have an in-home golf rivalry. My father, though, said that while he wasnt a fan of Palmer, he was an admirer, which held more value. In fact, when my father started his golf blog a few years ago, he titled it, Golf is Just a Game.My father went on to pursue golf on a competitive level and played college golf at Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas, where he would eventually meet my mother.Looking back, one can say that had my grandmother not been a crusader in Arnies Army, had she not grabbed my father by the hand to make him watch golf, I could very well have never been.When I asked my father about this, he laughed and said, You know, I never thought of it this way, but now that you say that...Although this is all speculation, of course, I cant help but think that its partly true. ' ' '