he direction our program is headed, he said. The coaches that we have around here, these coaches are terrific. Our administration, all the support we get from these people even when you dont think they are -- man, our administration, they support us like you wouldnt believe.Our kids, theyre treated li

LAS VEGAS -- The best boxing match of the year is expected to take place tonight in Las Vegas, but theres a good chance you didnt know about it.Theres also a decent chance you dont know much about the two fighters who make up just the 11th meeting between two of the top five fighters in Ring Magazines pound-for-pound rankings, which started in 1989.In fact, when Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) and Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) step into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the unified light heavyweight championship on the line, it will mark just the third bout over the past 25 years between a pair of top-five pound-for-pound fighters who both enter the match with undefeated records.Its the kind of main event fight with two fighters in their prime that should seep into the consciousness of mainstream sports fans more focused on college football and the NFL this time of year, but that has not been the case.Saturday marks the first pay-per-view fight for both Ward and Kovalev. It will also be Wards first fight in Las Vegas and Kovalevs third match in the fight capital of the word. As good as both fighters are, the true mark of a fighter breaking into the mainstream is becoming a pay-per-view fighter and headlining marquee cards in Las Vegas. In that sense, Saturday will be Ward and Kovalevs introduction for many casual fans who fork over money for pay-per-view fights only once or twice a year and still feel burned by the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao debacle over a year ago.But it takes time to build up the loyalty and following Mayweather and Pacquiao garnered from fight fans who dreamed of seeing both of them finally square off. It takes years of results, not weeks of promotion, to get fans to reach into their wallets and pay for a fight when theres an ample amount of other live sports on free television.Theres a storyline out there about what a shame it is that this fight isnt as big as Mayweather-Pacquiao, said Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. As I tend to do when I try and solve problems, I did some research to try and gain some perspective. Floyd Mayweather fought on HBO nine times just like Sergey, and of course the four-year period where he headlined his first HBO pay-per-view versus Arturo Gatti in June of 2005, Gatti was the big draw of that fight. Manny Pacquiao fought on HBO for two years before headlining his first HBO [pay-per-view] in January of 2005 with Eric Morales.Those events sold in hundreds of thousands of buys; it wasnt until Floyd and Manny got the opportunity to defeat the already well-established superstar Oscar De La Hoya that they reached that million-buy benchmark. They fought on parallel paths for 10 years on pay-per-view to get to the place where they arrived last year and that of course is where every fighter wants to be and that is where Kovalev and Ward want to go. And so they have to start somewhere.Ward and Kovalev have to start somewhere as pay-per-view fighters, but the same is true with attracting a mainstream audience of pay-per-view buyers, and theres a good chance most casual fight fans will take a wait-and-see approach to both fighters before shelling out $69.99 to purchase the HD telecast of Saturdays card. If it turns out to be a candidate for fight of the year, as many pundits predict, the rematch will garner more buys, and if that ones another classic with the loser of the previous match coming out on top, the rubber match in the trilogy would see both fighters not only receive a record payday but carve out their legacies.Not too many guys make it on pay-per-view; thats the goal, said Lennox Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Its a situation where people have to pay and watch you. After this fight, you dont want to do any other fights unless its pay-per-view. This is a great mark for these guys and this is the first step for them and where they want to stay. Its always important to win but they have to leave a lasting impression and make them want to come back for more.Duvas expectations for Saturday are somewhat tempered, knowing this will be the pay-per-view debut of both Ward and Kovalev and that many casual fans will likely hear about the result and watch the replay on HBO the following week before deciding if they want to invest in them moving forward.Were not going to get anybody thats never gotten a pay-per-view before, thats not happening on Saturday, Duva said. But were trying to get noticed and get that mainstream attention and you have to start somewhere. If we hit 200-250,000 [pay-per-view buys] Ill be dancing.Michael Yormark, Roc Nations president and chief of branding and strategy, understood the challenges of promoting this fight to a new audience that may be hesitant to pay to watch two fighters its not that familiar with.Andre hasnt fought out of Oakland in a while and Sergey doesnt have a big fan base that follows him and neither of them has fought on pay-per-view so there are challenges, but you have to sell the magnitude of this fight and how its perhaps the best fight on paper weve seen in 19 years, Yormark said. Im confident this fight will do better than other first-time pay-per-view fighters. When Triple G [Gennady Golovkin] was on pay-per-view last year, it did 150,000. We think this could be the biggest fight this year on pay-per-view.Chances are Saturdays fight wont be seen by many casual fans, but that doesnt mean it wont be a major turning point in the careers of two of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in boxing. Big-time pay-per-view matches between big-time pay-per-view fighters have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is Saturday night in Las Vegas for Kovalev and Ward.Cheap Custom Angels Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Authentic Custom Angels Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. http://www.customangelsjersey.com/custom-reggie-jackson-jersey-large-238x.html . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Custom CJ Wilson Jersey . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Custom Nolan Ryan Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- After he had finally waded through the mass of humanity at midfield, and survived more back slaps than a mixed martial artist, David Beaty walked into the Kansas football complex and exhaled.I feel better being in here right now, he said, than a few of the other showings.Pretty much every other showing.After taking over arguably the worst program in major college football, Beaty endured a winless first season that tested the resolve of even the most optimistic of coaches. And after a season-opening win over lower-level Rhode Island, nine more losses followed in quick succession.The signs of progress were evident, but close losses to TCU and Iowa State only seemed to underscore the monumental building job that Beaty had undertaken.Not to mention raise the frustration level surrounding the program.So when the Jayhawks rallied from a 21-10 second-half deficit to beat Texas in overtime on Saturday night, there was a palpable release of pent-up frustration. Many fans took it out in the most joyous of ways on Beaty, engulfing the personable coach on the turf in Memorial Stadium.Man, it was awesome. It was so cool to see them smiling and to see them having fun and enjoying themselves, Beaty said. They kept coming. They kept coming. Every week there was a ton of students up in that student section. And as a coach you keep thinking, `You know, man, are these kids going to continue to do that? And they did. They did. They kept coming.In black-and-white terms, it was only one victory against a downtrodden program that seems likely to fire its coach . But in grander terms, it was an important benchmark for the Kansas program.The Jayhawks had not beaten a Big 12 opponent in 19 tries. They had dropped 23 consecutive games to fellow Football Bowl Subdivision members. They hadnt beaten the Longhorns since 1938.It feels like more than just a win, Kansas safety Fish Smithson said after Matthew Wymans field goal gave them the 24-21 overtime victory. You get all the aspects into it -- senior day, conference win, our first real win for Coach Beaty. We thought about all of that.The win should pay dividends going forward, too.ddddddddddddeaty cobbled together his first recruiting class in a compressed timeframe after being hired to replace the failed Charlie Weis. His second class was recruited on the heels of a 0-12 season, when all he had to sell prospective athletes was a promising vision and some blind faith. Now, Beaty can point to a victory over one of college footballs blue-bloods.It says a lot about the direction our program is headed, he said. The coaches that we have around here, these coaches are terrific. Our administration, all the support we get from these people even when you dont think they are -- man, our administration, they support us like you wouldnt believe.Our kids, theyre treated like gold, Beaty added. If youre a recruit and you dont want to come here, youre crazy, because, man, we take care of our guys like nobody else.Beaty made it a point to thank those who laid the foundation for his first Big 12 win, including the senior class of a year ago. Many of them, including defensive lineman Ben Goodman, sat in the stands on Saturday, then joined in the delirious celebration on the field.But like any coach, Beaty also sought to keep things in perspective.The Jayhawks are still 1-7 in the conference, 2-9 overall, and have a tough test ahead of them in their season finale Saturday. Theyll head down Interstate 70 to face Kansas State, their bitter rival, a team thats coming off an impressive win over Baylor on Saturday.Weve got a lot of momentum on our side, Kansas defensive lineman Dorance Armstrong said. If we just execute our game plan for both sides of the ball like we did this week, we can get the win.That would be back-to-back wins for the Jayhawks for the first time in five years. Another benchmark for a program now seeking the next one.We got a huge, huge mountain we got to climb to get ready to play these guys, Beaty said, but its a lot easier and a lot more fun preparing with the result we got.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '