the baseline to return it and generating pace from Williams regular serves of well higher than 100 mph.The 25-year-old Konta a

NORMAN, Okla. -- There might be a silver lining in Oklahomas season-opening loss.Houston quarterback Greg Ward shredded the Sooners in a 33-23 victory that knocked Oklahoma from No. 3 to No. 14 in the AP poll , but the Cougars might have done the Sooners a favor by showing them what they need to fix in the secondary with Ohio State looming on Sept. 17. Oklahoma will start the process Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.When you lose, its hard to look at some of those positives for us, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. In the long run, Im sure it will pay off, we hope. We recognize that when you play a team like that (Houston), it exposes some of your weaknesses immediately.Stoops said there could be changes in the secondary. Ward passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns, and the Sooners got beat deep at times and struggled to tackle. Dakota Austin and Parrish Cobb, in particular, got picked on. Stoops said P.J. Mbanasor and former receiver Michiah Quick could get serious looks this week.Its pretty open right now, Stoops said. Well see who is the most consistent player out there. We need somebody to be consistent. You arent going to win every 50-50 ball, but you have to win your share. When they (the other team) win every time, that becomes a problem.Oklahoma will face another versatile quarterback on Saturday. Louisiana-Monroes Garrett Smith passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 150 yards and another score in a season-opening win over Southern. With Houstons success through the air, Stoops said, Oklahomas defensive backs can expect to be tested Saturday.The ball is going to keep coming, Stoops said. Thats one thing they ought to be ready for because its going to keep coming, so you just have to take it on as a personal challenge. To me, thats your pride and technique and thats why you are here. Were going to be challenged, and you have to be up for it. Well find out who is man enough for the challenge and who isnt.Houston avoided Oklahoma star cornerback Jordan Thomas and targeted the others. That makes the need for a cornerback other than Thomas to become a consistent playmaker critical.Its huge, Thomas said. That way, they (the other corners) dont feel like theyre in the hot seat. They dont have that much more stress on them to play perfect or to make a certain play here or here. I feel like its really, really crucial to our defense.All was not bad against the Cougars. Houston, a prolific running team a year ago, managed just 89 yards on 40 carries. Ward, who rushed for 1,114 yards last season, managed just one yard on 18 carries against the sooners.If you would have told me wed have held that team to 80 yards rushing and lost, I would have thought you were crazy, Stoops said. But its still finding the balance between putting all that pressure on guys that maybe cant handle it, finding ways to help.Stoops hopes the players learned a valuable lesson about preparation after falling short in that area before the Houston game.If you get too full of yourself -- and you can be overly confident and not prepare the right way -- then youre going to get humbled, he said. In this game, youre always one game, one play away from always getting humbled. Thats why you have to always stay the course and always prepare and work at it.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAPTarvarius Moore Super Bowl Jersey . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Joe Staley Super Bowl Jersey .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. http://www.authenticsf49erspro.com/Solomon-thomas-49ers-jersey/ . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Marquise Goodwin Super Bowl Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Jerry Rice Super Bowl Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park.STANFORD, Calif. -- As Johanna Konta pounded the ball from every spot on the court Sunday and rarely missed, there were moments Venus Williams could do little more than applaud her opponents stellar day as winners whipped down the line and drop shots fell perfectly.With a crowd of 2,268 largely rooting for the American icon Williams, Konta regularly reminded herself to breathe to keep her mind on the match and not her daunting task.The hard-hitting Konta outslugged top-seeded Williams to capture her first career singles title at last while playing for her first championship, winning the Bank of the West Classic 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.Its actually quite an incredibly humbling experience. Its a great validation of the hard work youve been putting in and its a great motivator on the things you want to keep getting better at, she said. I played her twice previously. I knew going into it I was going to be playing against a magnitude of experience. Venus Williams doesnt need an introduction.Her serve and return games equally solid on another unseasonably hot day at Stanford, Konta held on in the third set after squandering a 4-1 lead in the second to open the door for Williams to come back.When Williams netted her forehand return on the third match point, Konta dropped her racket to the ground and covered her face in triumph before heading to the net for a handshake. After receiving her trophy and addressing Williams directly with a thoughtful compliment of the 36-year-old stars grace and game, Konta posed for a round of photos that this time will be all the more special.She played at such a high level today, Williams said. She saved her best tennis for the final, which is what you want to do.Konta is having a blast being part of British tennis right now, everyone riding high after Wimbledon with Andy Murray winning at home..dddddddddddd.Yeah, long live the Queen, guys, she said with a big grin.Over the 2-hour, 18-minute match, the third-seeded Konta figured out Williams big serve for the second time this year, standing some 10 feet behind the baseline to return it and generating pace from Williams regular serves of well higher than 100 mph.The 25-year-old Konta also stunned Williams with the straight-set victory in the first round at this years Australian Open. Coming into Sundays match, Konta considered her return game a key to whether she would win.She plays really well against me, so maybe she comes out and doesnt feel any pressure and just swings for it, Williams said. I tried to stay in there and fight. ... What can I say but give her credit.Konta became the fourth-oldest first-time titlist this year. A steady serve helped carry Konta to Sundays final. She nailed 11 aces and moved Williams all over the court with an array of powerful groundstrokes and timely drop shots.Konta, headed to the Olympics next month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also was the first British woman to reach the final at Stanford since Virginia Wades runner-up finish in 1981.Williams was seeking her third tournament win at Stanford and denied career singles championship No. 50 while playing for her 80th title. At 49 singles tournament wins, she remains second among active players only behind younger sister Serenas 71.Of course I wanted to win, but I imagine with any luck Ill have more chances to get another title, she said.Williams is projected to move up to No. 6 in the next rankings. She will play in Montreal this coming week before the Rio Olympics next month.See you all in Rio, she told the crowd before exiting the stadium. ' ' '