Lancashire close to, but sadly short of, a fairy-tale vic

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Les Miles is back in damage-control mode while he tries to fix LSUs offense.The embattled 12th-year coach can only hope he gets the Tigers problems straightened out soon. His team plummeted in the national rankings from fifth to 21st, and his support among fans and boosters is fading fast.Theres a lot that can be said about a lot of things, Miles said Tuesday in reference to the criticism that has been dogging him, quarterback Brandon Harris and his offensive line since Saturdays mistake-marred, 16-14 upset loss to then-unranked Wisconsin . Certainly, Im aware of whats going on.Miles insisted that Harris performance against Wisconsin -- which was punctuated by a game-losing interception thrown directly to a defender and several yards from the nearest receiver -- belied the betterment that the junior QB displayed in practices last spring and throughout August. Miles made it clear hes not ready to give up on Harris, but also left little doubt that Harris margin for error is shrinking.Decision-making and really relaxing and letting the game come to him -- at times, he struggles there, Miles said. By the makeup of the talent thats there, were in pretty good shape. Its just that maturation process.Miles asserted that Harris has been just tremendous in scrimmages, so I know what the capability is.I recognize that hes got to still (improve); we all do, Miles added. But he doesnt have a lifetime to do it and there are other quarterbacks.Next in line would be Danny Etling, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior transfer from Purdue who fans could be calling for when LSU plays its home opener against Jacksonville State this Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.Miles said he is eager to see Etling play, too, but added, Hopefully itll not have to be done for the necessity of victory. Hopefully itll be done because Brandon has really improved and done well, and lets give Danny some snaps.Etling has been praised for his arm strength and ability to scramble when needed, but he does not necessarily represent a panacea for the Tigers offense, based on his experience with the Boilermakers.He started seven games for Purdue as a freshman and five as a sophomore, but often struggled. He left Purdue having completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 2,490 yards and 16 TDs against 12 interceptions.Yet Harris on Saturday struggled to even meet his production standard from a year ago.In 12 starts last season, Harris completed 53.8 percent of his passes for 180.4 yards per game and 13 touchdowns against six interceptions.Against Wisconsin -- which shot up to 10th in the AP Top 25 -- Harris completed 12 of 21 passes (57.1 percent) for 131 yards and one touchdown while being sacked twice and throwing two interceptions, the second of which extinguished LSUs comeback hopes after the Tigers had moved into game-winning field goal range.Harris was not made available to speak with reporters after the Wisconsin game or on Tuesday.Regardless of who plays quarterback, one change will be noticeable: offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will move from the sideline to the press box to call plays.Center Ethan Pocic said the offensive line was to blame for some of Harris troubles against Wisconsin.Brandon, in the locker room, he thought it was all on him, but its not, Pocic said. There are so many things that play into it. Like I told him, the o-line has got to give him more time.LSU players apparently have been briefed on how to handle the fall-out from their first-game flop, which only looked worse in the context of rival Alabama, which has a freshman at quarterback, consolidating its No. 1 ranking with a 52-6 demolition of Southern California.When questioned about the psyche of the team, several LSU players made available to reporters on Tuesday afternoon repeated cliches about taking it one game at a time and improving day by day. They also noted that all their main goals regarding Southeastern Conference and national championship remains in front of us.Technically, thats true. LSU wont play its SEC opener until Sept. 18 against Mississippi State and teams have rebounded from season-opening losses to win the national championship before -- as Ohio State did just two seasons ago.Its not the end of the world, Pocic said, as long as we learn from it and improve.Game notes Miles said star running back Leonard Fournette was rested during Mondays practice but reiterated, as he said after Saturdays game, that Fournette is fine after initially being hobbled by a fourth-quarter hit to his lower leg. ... Miles said guard Josh Boutte, who has been suspended one game for leveling Wisconsins DCota Dixon after the defensive backs game-sealing interception, called Dixon to express remorse and ask if he was OK. He didnt want to hurt him, Miles said, adding that Boutte was blocking on the back side of the play and did not initially realize Dixon had been ruled down because he did not see the defensive back fall to the ground after the interception.---Online: AP College Football website www.collegefootball.ap.org Cheap Jordans . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Wholesale Air Jordan . 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. http://www.wholesaleairjordanfromchina.com/ .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Cheap Jordan From China . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record.The 2016 NatWest T20 Blast gets underway on Friday, with Sky Sports bringing you live coverage of Essexs game with Surrey at Chelmsford. There will be big hits and stunning catches aplenty throughout the tournament this summer but before things begin, check out some of the best moments from past Blasts.Watch the action in the video above and read more about it in the paragraphs below... Foxes fire to win Leicestershire celebrate with the trophy after beating Surrey in 2004 Things went to plan in 2003 - the first year of Twenty20 cricket - with Surrey winning, as they tended to do in the early 2000s. But a year later, Leicestershire - who tended not to - shocked the cricketing world by beating them in the final to pick up their first-limited overs trophy for 19 years. Their success was built around Darren Maddy at the top of the order and the wily off-spin of Jeremy Snape, both of whom England would pick as specialists for the first ever World T20 in 2007, plus future England bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, and Brad Hodge. Hodge smashed an unbeaten 77 in the Foxes win, the first of three T20 trophies for the county.T20 cricket born The Hampshire players get used to their new surroundings in their T20 dugout Broadcast live on Sky, the south-coast tussle between Hampshire and Sussex was a terrific way to start, with two Pakistani greats lining up against each other in Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed, plus the likes of Simon Katich, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Matt Prior and James Kirtley. It was the lesser-known James Hamblin and Derek Kenway who made the majority of the runs for Hampshire, though, as they set Sussex 154 to win. Wasim then did what he does best, dismissing Prior (bowled) and Murray Goodwin (lbw) in consecutive balls to put the Hampshire on top. Fifty for Tim Ambrose took the Sharks close, but they ultimately slipped to a five-run defeat.Napier’s huge hitting Graham Napier had a terrific T20 tournament in 2008 with a strike rate of 195.20 It has since been surpassed by Luke Wrights 153 for Sussex against Essex and Brendon McCullums 158 for Birmingham Bears against Derbyshire, but Graham Napier set the benchmark in 2008 when he obliterated the Sussex attack for 152 from just 58 balls. Napiers knock contained 10 fours and a whopping 16 sixes, a tally which has only been surpassed by, yes, youve guessed it, Chris Gayle with 17 in the IPL. But it was striking unlike any wed seen before on home soil - a seat in the Chelmsford crowd needed to come with a warning, or a job description, as balls were regularly lost in the carnage and needed retrieving.Flintoffs final farewell Freddie took centre stage at Finals Day in 2014 Freddies triumphant return for Lancashire wasnt going to plan, featuring in just two games as the red-hot Red Rose county didnt want to disrupt what was proving to be a winning formula on their way to Finals Day in 2014.ddddddddddddHe also sat out their semi-final win over Hampshire before being called upon at the 11th hour with Kabir Ali struck down by a shoulder injury. Freddies appetite for the big stage had obviously never faded as what unfolded next in front of a capacity crowd in Birmingham was pure box office. He struck with his first ball - dismissing Ian Bell - and hit 20 off eight, with two vintage Flintoff sixes to take Lancashire close to, but sadly short of, a fairy-tale victory.Bust some moves This young Hampshire fan busts some moves. Where is he now? For all the entertainment on the field, there are a few gems in the crowd, too. None more so than a young Hampshire fan who took centre stage on Finals Day in 2008. His side didnt make the final itself at The Ageas Bowl that year, but it didnt stop him from enjoying himself and serving up some, shall we say, questionable dance moves. Nasser summed it up best on commentary, saying: Go for it young man. The Nick Knight school of dancing. Yes youngster, bust some moves. Eight years ago now, one can only hope the stick he received after this clip has ceased, although us giving everyone a reminder has doubtless done him no favours. Sorry youngster.Watch Essex versus Surrey in the Natwest T20 Blast, from 7pm, Friday, Sky Sports 2. The T20 Blast is back this Friday as the Essex Eagles takes on Surrey live on Sky Sports 2 from 7pm. Also See: Fixtures/results Live cricket on Sky Get Sky Sports Cricket videos ' ' '