LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas coach David Beaty is about as Texan as it gets, from his subtle drawl to his childhood days in Wylie, a decade spent coaching high schools and assistant stints at Rice and Texas A&M.Yet unlike his players from the Lone Star State, Beaty insists theres nothing special about facing the Longhorns.When youre playing those schools that maybe they went to camp at or maybe got recruited or didnt get recruited by, there is probably some emotion. Plus the affiliation with that state, Beaty said, but from my standpoint, its never really been like that. Im just a fan of football, period.Still, Beaty does have a unique understanding of the pressure for those involved with the Longhorns -- the pressure that has pushed their own coach, Charlie Strong, firmly onto the hot seat.Texas (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) can become bowl-eligible by beating the Jayhawks (1-9, 0-7) on Saturday, but even that might not be enough to save Strongs job. The decision is expected to be made after the season.To his credit, Strong has remained diplomatic about his future.Theres no excuses. The losses are mounting, he said, and there are games that we should win, and we had our opportunities there and we didnt win them. But we still have a football team still competing and still playing hard, and thats what you like to see happen.It has been a season of near-misses for both teams.Last week was no exception.The Jayhawks led Iowa State deep into the third quarter before falling, 31-24. Texas spent the entire fourth quarter chasing the go-ahead touchdown in a 24-20 loss to West Virginia .That leaves both teams even more desperate heading into Saturday. Here are some things to watch:BOWLS MATTERThe Longhorns are accustomed to playing in big games, but even a less-heralded bowl game would be a positive step for a program that went 5-7 and missed out on the postseason last year.I watched a few of them. I was just really too, kind of upset to even watch a lot of them, Texas safety P.J. Locke said of the bowl season. I just watched a few of them, maybe the national championship and maybe a few others, and that was it, though.NARROW DEFEATSThe loss to West Virginia was hardly the only close call for the Longhorns, who lost by a touchdown to California, six points to Oklahoma and a field goal to Kansas State. If those games go the other direction, perhaps Strongs job security looks a little different.Its definitely frustrating, Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson said, and at the same time its encouraging because we know we can compete with anybody. Weve just got to just pull it together. Were so close, and weve just got to keep working and building off of what weve been doing.AILING JAYHAWKSBeaty said linebacker Marcquis Roberts will not return this season because of a shoulder injury and defensive end Anthony Olobia is out with a season-ending Achilles injury. Both seniors would have been playing their final game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.AS FOR KINNERKansas running back Keaun Kinner was also hurt against Iowa State, taking a wicked shot that left him with a bruised rib. But the Jayhawks are hopeful he will be able to play.He looked good in practice, Beaty said, so I feel good about him. I think hes going to be OK. We really need him to be OK. He ran really well the other night.SENIOR DAYKinner should be among the seniors playing their final home game, along with safety Fish Smithson, offensive lineman DAndre Banks and others. Many were recruited to Kansas by Charlie Weis, went through interim Clint Bowen and wrapped up their careers with their third head coach.The big thing for these guys, and weve been talking about it from the beginning, is the foundation that were laying here, Beaty said, regardless whether we were a bowl team or a team that was still doing foundational work. Understanding that each individual day was going to be basically a step in the right direction for the future of our program.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.Balenciaga Sneakers Buy Uk .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Balenciaga Sneakers Discount . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. http://www.balenciagaoutletuk.com/ . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Balenciaga Outlet Online Uk . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Cheap Balenciaga Sneakers Uk .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team.NEW YORK -- Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and the Washington Nationals stole this one from Noah Syndergaard.Harper hit two doubles and became the latest player to swipe a base against Syndergaard, helping A.J. Cole post his first major league win as the Nationals beat the New York Mets 4-1 Friday night.Washington won its fourth in a row and increased its NL East bulge over the wild card-contending Mets to 10 1/2 games.Like a lot of teams, the Nationals came out running on Syndergaard, stealing four bases in the early innings.Its all around the league that he doesnt hold runners yet, Washington manager Dusty Baker said.Tall and slow to the plate, Syndergaard has had 45 runners steal with him on the mound -- the most against any pitcher since Hideo Nomo in 2001, ESPN Stats & Info said.Baker said the strategy does more than set up runs. It also seems to rankle Syndergaard.Hes prideful, Baker said. After a steal, he added, he looks at the runner and doesnt like it very much.Only six runners have been caught with Syndergaard pitching. Before the game, Mets manager Terry Collins said Syndergaard had improved at holding runners on base.Maybe, but after Turner led off the game with a single, he stole two bases and scored on Harpers sacrifice fly.Just told myself at first to go, Turner said.With 20 steals, Turner set a Nationals-era record for most by a rookie. Hes also reached base safely in 21 straight games.Yeah, hes real fast, very aggressive, and Noahs going to have trouble with those kind of guys, Collins said.Harper doubled with one out in the fourth, stole his 19th base with two outs and came home on a single by Wilson Ramos. Harpers double set up Anthony Rendons two-run single in the ninth.The key to hitting Syndergaard, Harper said, is to not chase tough pitches he throws.Cole (1-1) gave up one run and three hits in six innings. He struck out five in his fourth big league start.This is what Ive been working toward, the 24-year-old righty said.Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the sixth time in eight games, sending a drive over the right-center wall in the Mets fourth. His 19th home run came one pitch after he hit a long fly that barely hooked foul into the upper deck in right field.Mark Rzepczynski, Koda Glover, Oliver Perez and Mark Melancon combined for three innings of scoreless relief.dddddddddddd Melancon closed for his 38th save.Syndergaard (12-8) gave up just three hits in seven innings and retired his final 10 batters.Along with shutting down the Nationals in the middle innings, Syndergaard might have shut down the crowd, too. Earlier this week, he wrote on Twitter and said on video that he wasnt a fan of fans doing the wave.Daniel Murphy singled in the ninth, and has a hit in all 14 games against the Mets this season. He also stole a base against the team he boosted to the World Series last year.TENNIS, ANYONE?The U.S. Open is being held right across the street from Citi Field, and Harper said he didnt play tennis as a kid growing up in Las Vegas. Being on the court at 120 degrees, I didnt want that, he said. But even a few years ago, tennis had a hand in his development, sort of. My dad used to pitch me tennis balls, he said. Theyre hard to square up with a bat, harder than a baseball. You have to hit them just right or you foul them off. Made for a lot of frustrating swings.COVER CHARGEMets leadoff man Jose Reyes struck out twice in going 0 for 4, but he still managed to knock the cover off the ball. Literally, he did. In the first inning, Reyes hit a foul that kept spinning quickly in the batters box, with a flap of the ball coming loose. Reyes and Ramos watched it spin into the dirt for several seconds.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (sore elbow) threw a bullpen and was feeling good, Baker said. There was no timetable for his return to the rotation, but Baker figured probably pretty soon.Mets: Collins said LHP Steven Matz (shoulder tightness) will head to the teams spring training complex in Florida after this weekend and start throwing again Monday. Matz is on the disabled list and hasnt pitched since Aug. 14.UP NEXTNationals: RHP Tanner Roark (14-7, 2.87 ERA) is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA at Citi Field in seven games, four of them starts.Mets: RHP Robert Gsellman (1-1, 3.72) makes his second major league start. Among those in attendance will be Laurie Hernandez, who won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team and will throw out the first ball. ' ' '