Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 millio

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops would be just fine if he didnt have to face one of his most respected mentors, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, each year.No, I dont enjoy coaching against coach Snyders teams, Stoops said emphatically. Theyre too good all the time.Oklahoma (3-2, 2-0 Big 12), ranked No. 19 , faces Kansas State (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday, and as often has been the case, the winner will be well positioned early in the conference race.Stoops and Snyder go back to the late 1970s. Stoops played at Iowa when Snyder was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under coach Hayden Fry. Stoops joined Iowas coaching staff as a graduate assistant while Snyder was still there.Stoops was an assistant coach on Snyders first seven Kansas State teams from 1989 to 1995, when they helped the program emerge as a powerhouse.Ive got great admiration and respect for coach, and I loved my time there, Stoops said of Snyder. I say it all the time -- those were a great seven years I was there, and learned a ton being there from the ground up.Snyder returns the respect for the Oklahoma program.Theyre a good football team, always have been, and better than good, he said.Both have continued to excel since Stoops left Kansas State to become defensive coordinator at Florida, then took the job at Oklahoma in 1999. They rank first and second among active FBS coaches in career wins at their current schools. Snyder, in his 25th year, has 196 wins at Kansas State. Stoops, in his 18th season at Oklahoma, has 182 victories. They have combined for 11 Big 12 championships in the leagues first 20 years -- Stoops has nine and Snyder two.Stoops said Snyder has remained successful at age 77 because he still connects with the people around him.He does a good job relating with his players, with his coaches, his coaches relate with the players, Stoops said. All of it together. I think theres great respect there from players to him.Snyder has the Wildcats competing. Kansas State has the No. 1 scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense in the Big 12.Theyre really sound, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. They play their gaps so well. Its a four-man front. I think Coach Snyder will do that until the day hes done. Its incredible. They know what theyre doing. They know what their holes are. They know how to cover them up. They just dont beat themselves.Snyder said this years Oklahoma team is formidable, despite its early losses to Houston and Ohio State.They had some injuries that tempered that a little bit, but theyve come through that quite well, he said. The replacements -- you watch them on videotape, and they are very fine players and good athletes. Bobby would probably temper that thought. Yes, they have gotten better, and if there are any exceptions to that statement, they are probably injury based.Stoops has a 9-3 record against Snyder, but Kansas State has won the past two games in Norman -- 24-19 in 2012 and 31-30 in 2014. And Snyder was responsible for one of the most stunning losses in recent Oklahoma history, when the Wildcats beat the top-ranked Sooners 35-7 in the 2003 Big 12 championship game.Last year, the Sooners outgained Kansas State 568 yards to 110 in a 55-0 win at Kansas State. The Sooners seemed eager to push that game into the rear-view mirror.Theyre a sound team, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield said. Theyre well coached. They always are. Theyre definitely a lot better than they were last year.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAPYohan Cabaye France Jersey . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Christophe Jallet Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/hugo-lloris-france-jersey/ . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Mathieu Valbuena Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Laurent Koscielny France Jersey . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames.The Boston Celtics?finally had all of their players healthy and available for Saturdays game in Detroit.Al Horford and Jae Crowder, both sidelined for most of November, returned to the starting lineup against the Pistons.Horford, who missed nine games due to a concussion suffered on Halloween, played 34 minutes and finished with 18 points, a team-high 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. He hit a go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left and followed it up with a block at the buzzer to seal a 94-92 victory.Crowder, who missed eight games iin a row with an ankle injury, scored nine points.ddddddddddddThe Celtics also had?Marcus Smart available. Smart left Fridays game against the Golden State Warriors due to an ankle injury, but hes healthy enough to come off the bench.This was the first game this season in which the Celtics had all of their top eight players available. Smart and Kelly Olynyk were both sidelined at the start of the season due to injuries. ' ' '