am. I do whatever I can to help the team win.

(STATS) -- Northern Arizona hung with Arizona State for over a half in its opener, but the FBS opponent proved to be too strong, wearing down the smaller school to hand their in-state foe a tough loss.The No. 19 Lumberjacks return to the FCS ranks but their road doesnt get any easier with a trip to Western Illinois of the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Saturday. While an 0-2 start is certainly a possibility for a Northern Arizona team picked to win the Big Sky, a couple of early losses wouldnt dash its postseason aspirations. The 18th-ranked Leathernecks can vouch for that.A year ago, WIU suffered September losses at Illinois and Coastal Carolina but ended up becoming the first team in FCS history to earn an at-large playoff bid after a 6-5 regular-season record.No team should be penalized for playing good people, Leathernecks coach Charlie Fisher said.The Lumberjacks missed the playoffs last season despite going 7-4. The offense took off behind Case Cookus, who threw for 3,111 yards with an FCS freshman-record 37 TDs, and the 2015 STATS FCS Freshman of the Year winner picked up right where he left off in the 2016 opener.Cookus completed 23 of 33 passes for 369 yards with an 87-yard touchdown to Elijah Marks -- the only time NAU reached the end zone -- in last Saturdays 44-13 loss to the Sun Devils. The Lumberjacks trailed 10-6 midway through the third quarter before ASU pulled away.Cookus was able to march the Lumberjacks down the field as they piled up 425 yards but 11 penalties -- their most since 2013 -- and a 5-of-16 conversion rate on third downs led to their undoing. They also turned the ball over on downs once in the red zone.I think we are happy with the amount of yards and how we moved the ball, but were not happy with some of the stupid mistakes we made in the red zone not coming away with points, Cookus said. We have a lot to work on but there are a lot of positives there. Well take the positives and the negatives and work on it.One area that needs to get cleaned up -- and quickly -- is their run defense.After being gashed for 276 rushing yards by ASU, NAU has the tough task of trying to stop Steve McShane.A dual-sport athlete who is an outfielder on the WIU baseball team, McShane rushed for 207 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns in last Saturdays 38-21 win over Eastern Illinois of the Ohio Valley. He became the first WIU player to rush for 200 yards in a game since 2008 and was a threat out of the backfield in the passing game, hauling in a team-high four receptions for 56 yards.We were able to stay patient and run the ball. That is something Ive emphasized since I got here, which is to have a running game on a regular basis, said Fisher, who won his debut. We need to run and we need to be able to make the runs and we did.Establishing a ground game is paramount if the Leathernecks once again struggle to move the ball through the air.Sean McGuire, who started WIUs final four games last season as a freshman, completed just 13 of 28 passes for 109 with a two-yard TD pass to tight end Tony Harper. Only seven of his completions went to receivers and preseason All-MVFC selection Lance Lenoirs 15-yard reception was the lone one longer than nine yards.It was a somewhat troubling showing for McGuire after he was at 284.5 yards per game and 7.5 per attempt in his starts last season. Not to mention his top two targets from a year ago are back in Lenoir and Joey Borsellino, who totaled 145 catches for 2,033 yards. The two combined for three receptions for 24 yards last week.While getting McGuire and his receivers on the same page is important, shoring up the pass defense is critical to have any hope in slowing down Cookus.WIU allowed 366 passing yards to the Panthers and was vulnerable to big plays, permitting catches of 28, 34, 40, 53 and 79 yards.Cookus averaged 11.2 yards per attempt in the opener, connecting with Marks eight times for 174 yards and completing seven passes to Emmanuel Butler for 118. Butler set a NAU record with 1,208 receiving yards last season and was a STATS FCS All-America second team selection.Very explosive on offense with Case Cookus as their quarterback, arguably the best one in the country, Fisher said.This is one of three matchups between ranked teams from the Big Sky and MVFC this weekend, with top-ranked North Dakota State hosting No. 8 Eastern Washington and 14th-ranked Montana visiting No. 3 Northern Iowa.NAU, which is 7-10 all-time against MVFC teams, won the only other meeting with WIU, 34-0 in 1967.We knew going into the season this would be an important game and a representation of not just our conference but our program and how we stack up, Lumberjacks coach Jerome Souers said. I think we are similarly ranked to Western Illinois and if thats accurate or not will be determined. Its going to be a tough matchup and were excited. Ultra Boost Mens Sale . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. http://www.ultraboostclearance.com/yeezy-boost-shoes-wholesale.html . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Ultra Boost Sale . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Adidas Ultra Boost Mens Clearance . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Two games in and the defending champion appears ready to defend its crown. SK Telecom T1 improved to 2-0 in the group stages with a clinical victory over Chinas third-place seed I May. The comeback kids from China couldnt find any weaknesses in T1s defenses after falling down early, and the result was never in doubt past the 10 minute mark.The only difference between SKTs Day 2 dissection and Saturdays win was the starting jungler. Veteran two-time Summoners Cup winner Bengi started for the team Friday, and Saturday it was rookie Kang Blank Sun-gu. We caught up with Blank following his successful Worlds debut.I was really, really excited Blank answered when asked how he felt stepping on the Worlds stage for the first time. I had this fantasy image of America, so its a really different experience for me. My North American summoner name was ILoveUsa.What does he think about the U.S. so far?America is a very attractive country to be in, he said. New York is a place I really want to visit. I want to see the Statue of Liberty in person. Im really excited for that.The year for Blank has been a roller coaster ride. When he debuted at the start of the 2016 campaign, he was pegged as a future star at the jungling role, handpicked by the T1 staff to play on the team. And whille hes been heavily criticized for his inconsistent play throughout the year, hes shown up when its mattered the most, helping SKT win both the IEM World Championship, spring season of South Koreas domestic league, and the Mid-Season Invitational as a starter.ddddddddddddEveryone on the team is very close to one another, he said. Were like one big happy family. I love it.From what Ive seen so far, Ive been very impressed with TSM junglers [Dennis Svenskeren Johnsen], Blank said when asked about western junglers. I think [he] is really good at knowing when to go into the enemy jungle, and I also admire Svenskerens mechanical abilities.The biggest battle for SKTs young jungler will be if he can continue playing at a high level without having those games where he falters early and becomes a detriment to his team. At his best, Blank can give T1 an edge in the jungle its lacked since Bengis mechanical peak in 2013.Hearing criticism made me stronger as a person, he said. Its [helped] me control my inner feelings and bring forth a stronger mentality. Ive showed up so far, and I want to continue to do well to show everyone how good I [really] am. ' ' '