second consecutive year that a true freshman Baylor quarterback gets his first career start against Kansas State. Jarrett Stidham, who left Baylor last summer, threw for 419 yards and three T

It has become a tradition. When USA Basketball team photos are taken, the feet of the players who arent wearing shoes with Nike swooshes are obscured.This years photo was released on Monday, and it was no surprise that the feet of Harrison Barnes, Kyle Lowry and Klay Thompson were hidden. Barnes and Lowry are Adidas spokesmen, while Thompson reps Chinese brand Anta.Before social media was the rage, the 2008 picture became a huge buzz item.Coach Mike Krzyzewski was sitting, and his foot blocked the logo of the only guy (Dwight Howard) who was wearing Adidas. And Howard, who for some reason was out of height order with Chris Bosh, was holding the basketball so that he covered the swoosh on his shorts. For housekeeping purposes, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul?were with Jordan, which is owned by Nike, and Dwyane Wade?was wearing Converse, also owned by Nike.Fast-forward to 2012, when the one non-Nike guy was Kevin Love. The year before, Love signed a contract with Chinese shoe brand 361 Degrees. Where was Love in the official picture? Hidden behind Kobe Bryant and Tyson Chandler.The Olympic shoe wars started in earnest in 1992 when Michael Jordan said for weeks he wouldnt wear the medal-stand jacket sponsored by Reebok. When the Dream Team won gold, the three non-Reebok spokesmen -- MJ, Magic Johnson (Converse) and Charles Barkley?-- zipped down their jackets and famously put a towel over the Reebok logo.Nike has been the official partner of USA Basketball since 2006. Since then, 86 percent of the players on the mens U.S. Olympic teams (31 of 36) have been Nike spokesmen. Mike Gminski Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Vince Carter Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. 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Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. WACO, Texas -- On the same day Baylor seniors will be honored before their final home game on the banks of the Brazos River, true freshman quarterback Zach Smith gets his first career start for the Bears.Baylor (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) goes into its home finale Saturday against Kansas State with a three-game losing streak and without senior quarterback Seth Russell, who had season-ending surgery this week after a gruesome left ankle injury in a loss last weekend at Oklahoma.Its really heartbreaking what happened to Seth, but I mean I just have to honor him and go in there and do what I know I can do, said Smith, who has appeared in six games behind Russell.I feel good about Zach, acting head coach Jim Grobe said. Hes just the kind of guy that you want. Hes a smart quarterback, he takes his role very seriously, he tries to do exactly what hes coached to do.Smith will be making his first start against one of the Big 12s best defenses. Kansas State has allowed 393 total yards per game -- the only conference team allowing less than 400 a game. (The Wildcats had one game shortened to a half because of bad weather.)The Wildcats (5-4, 3-3) need one more win to get bowl eligible for the seventh year in a row and 18th time overall under coach Bill Snyder. They are coming off an open date after another heartbreaking Big 12 loss .We got to rest a little bit and we have been practicing basic stuff like running to the ball and tackling, senior linebacker Charmeachealle Moore said. I think we are just ready to play.Kansas State lost its last game at home to No. 13 Oklahoma State, which scored two quick touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 43-37 after the Wildcats opted to punt on fourth-and-inches. In their conference opener at No. 10 West Virginia, K-State blew a 13-0 halftime lead and gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 17-16 loss.The downside is you can lose the continuity, to a certain degree, of playing every single week, Snyder said about the extra time sincee the last game.dddddddddddd Obviously, there are positive things like giving the players a peace of mind, so to speak, not that there are any real significant days off, but nevertheless the opportunity to not be under the gun constantly.Some other things to know when Baylor goes for its fifth consecutive victory in the series against the Wildcats:SHOCK IS BACKBaylor career rushing leader Shock Linwood is back after a one-game suspension for what Grobe described as attitude issues. Grobe, without elaborating, said that Linwood had made corrections. I like to give kids a reminder once in a while that their behavior is more important than their ability on the football field, Grobe said. Im expecting were going to get a guy that comes back and does all the things we want him to do.ALMOST 200Bill Snyder earlier this season became only the seventh FBS coach with 300 games at the same school. This will be his 305th game, and now hes going for his 199th victory in his 25 seasons with the Wildcats. His currently ranks first among active FBS coaches for wins at their current schools.ANOTHER FRESHMAN QBThis is the second consecutive year that a true freshman Baylor quarterback gets his first career start against Kansas State. Jarrett Stidham, who left Baylor last summer, threw for 419 yards and three TDs in a 31-24 win at K-State last year after Russell had suffered a season-ending neck injury.CENTURY SIGNAL CALLERKansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz has had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. Ertz is the Big 12s best rushing quarterback with 70 yards per game.SENIOR MOMENTSThere will be 13 Baylor seniors who will be honored during pregame ceremonies. This senior class has been part of a 38-10 record and the schools only two Big 12 football championships.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '