ally practice probably more than anything, Malzahn said. Well see wh

The main event for the IEM Oakland Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament has begun. With FaZe Clan and Astralis having claimed their spots in the semifinals by virtue of finishing first in their respective groups, four teams were left to battle it out for the remaining semifinal spots. SK Gaming prevailed in a close 2-1 series over G2 Esports, while Ninjas in Pyjamas swept Immortals in a quick series.SK Gaming builds unstoppable momentumDespite claiming the series win overall, SK certainly got off to a slow start in its quarterfinals match against G2. The teams were on Nuke for the first game, and G2 showed that it wasnt messing around one bit. The European squad got out to a 10-5 lead at halftime before winning six of the final seven rounds to claim a 16-6 Game 1 win.But that trouncing in Game 1 paled in comparison to the performance that SK put together in Game 2 versus Train. The outcome was almost never in doubt, as SK took a 10-5 lead into the half and then shut out G2 in the second half for a 16-5 win. Gabriel FalleN Toledo led the way with a stellar 22/6 kills/deaths stat line and 104.8 average damage per round (ADR).Heading into the final game of the series, it felt like SK had gotten into a bit of a rhythm and was destined to have a big game on the third map, Dust 2. And thats exactly what happened. FalleN was once again head and shoulders above the pack, putting together a brilliant start to the match. He had 14 kills before he finally died for the first time in Round 12. SK went into the half up 12-3 and then won four straight rounds in the second half to take the series. The Brazilian team is humming and will look to continue its high level of play in Sundays semifinal match against Astralis.A lopsided win for Ninjas in PyjamasThe second series of the day was not nearly as exciting as the first. Before this event, Immortals had been playing extremely well of late, and were looking to make a deep run at IEM Oakland. The team was matched up against the old guard of Ninjas in Pyjamas, though, who showed the Brazilian squad whos boss. NiP proved that it doesnt matter what side or map its on, as it put together a dominant showing in a lopsided win.In each match of the series, NiP took a major lead into the half -- 11-4 during Game 1 and 12 -3 in Game 2 -- and never really let up. Game 1 was the closest, as Immortals did manage to grab nine wins in the 16-9 loss, but NiP absolutely closed the door on the series in Game 2, taking the map 16-4. Immortals will turn its attention back to the Esports Championship Series Season 2, where it is currently battling for a playoff spot. NiP will now move on to the semifinals to take on FaZe Clan.It all comes down to this. The final four teams have been set, with $125,000 of the $300,000 prize pool on the line at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Sunday. The day will start off with Astralis taking on SK before FaZe Clan will meet NiP. The winners of those matches will then head to the finals that evening to determine the victor. The action will kick off at 1:00 PM EST, and you wont want to miss this one.Custom Baseball Jerseys China . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Custom Jerseys Sale .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. http://www.baseballjerseyscustom.com/ .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Clearance Custom Baseball Jerseys . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama and Auburn dispatched their usual pre-Iron Bowl FCS opponents as expected.Now, the top-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 16 Auburn can focus on what really matters in this state: The Iron Bowl. `Bama has moved on from a lackluster performance against Chattanooga (still a 31-3 victory), and the Tigers 55-0 win over Alabama A&M was hardly indicative of what theyll face Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.Ditto for Alabama, which shouldnt have any issues getting up for this one.Its pretty easy because its a rivalry game, the biggest one of the year, you could say, Tide defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson said. I still feel like some of my teammates who were here when we lost to Auburn a couple of years ago still feel the pain of losing to them. Its pretty easy to focus up just because we dont want to have that feeling again.Alabama (11-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) has won the past two meetings and 23 games in a row. Auburn (8-3, 5-2) No. 15) is battling injuries to quarterback Sean White (throwing shoulder) and tailback Kamryn Pettway (left leg) that kept both out of the Alabama A&M game. Pettway also didnt play in a loss to Georgia that kept this from being a showdown for the SEC West title.Alabama has already clinched that and will face Florida in the SEC championship game.Senior Jeremy Johnson replaced White against Alabama A&M, passing for a touchdown and rushing for two more. Coach Gus Malzahn didnt offer any indication of Whites status for the Iron Bowl after the game.ddddddddddddI think at this point its just being able to officially practice probably more than anything, Malzahn said. Well see where thats at. Im not ready to predict how hes going to feel in a day or two, or how hes going to do.For the most part, players from both teams skirted questions about the Iron Bowl after their respective games.Not Tide receiver Gehrig Dieter, who will experience his first after transferring from Bowling Green.I feel like everyone in the country kind of watches that game growing up, said Dieter, who caught two 1-yard touchdown passes against Chattanooga. I always watched it growing up, and its exciting that I have the chance to play in it. Its pretty exciting, as a team, what weve been doing this year, so we will come out next game and have an intensity about us.The general consensus among coach Nick Saban and Alabama players was that that intensity wasnt up to par in the latest game. The Tide fell behind early and led by a modest 14-3 at halftime.Tomlinson said players had already addressed the issues in the locker room before Saban came in wanting to know, Do you believe me now?He was angry, because Sabans always angry, Tomlinson said. He just got on everybody and made sure we were all focused.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '