Cuts » to give him five in six games after a slow start and Jake

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.I 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 Shoes Wholesale China Suppliers . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Wholesale Shoes China . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. http://www.shoescheap.net/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Discount Shoes Online . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Authentic Shoes For Cheap . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. What do you need to know about last nights big stories? Scott Burnside gives us his take on the biggest and best.Lightning will be fine: Game 1 of life without Steven Stamkos (version 3) started pretty much as I expected it would, as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat up on the hapless Buffalo Sabres 4-1 Thursday for their third straight win. The Lightning have over the past few years been forced to play for long periods of time without their captain and offensive dynamo, and they have done so for the most with aplomb. Now theyre faced with a four-month absence after Stamkos underwent surgery Thursday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. If there is a team capable of absorbing this kind of body blow, its the Lightning. Im not going to go all hyperbolic and call this a statement game, but on a night when youd expect your veterans to step up, Nikita Kucherov scored his ninth and?Alex Killorn, who had been scoreless in 10 games, delivered a goal and an assist as the Lightning served notice they wont be feeling sorry for themselves in the absence of their captain.Blues bounce back: Its been a weird November for the St. Louis Blues, who had lost five of eight games heading into their first meeting of the season with Western Conference-champion San Jose Sharks Thursday night. Three times the Blues have allowed at least five goals -- very un-Ken Hitchcock like. But in the first rematch of last springs Western Conference finalists, the Bluess got back to Blues hockey, clipping the Sharks 3-2.dddddddddddd Jaden Schwartz, so key to a Blues team looking for a new generation of leaders, chipped in two goals to give him five in six games after a slow start and Jake Allen, whos had his ups and downs in November, was at times spectacular, turning aside 29 of 31 shots. The Blues, meanwhile, continue to dominate at home, running their record to 7-1-2. The loss, the second in a row, drops the Sharks, who were the kings of the road last season, to a pedestrian 5-6 away from the Shark Tank.Oilers slide continues: Im going to take some responsibility for the Edmonton Oilers plunge off the proverbial cliff. It was a little more than a week ago I saw them in Pittsburgh, and even though they fell 4-3, there was a sense of optimism that this was a team on the rise. Uhm. No. The Oilers are proving that kind of renaissance doesnt happen overnight -- or in their case, over a decade -- as theyve now lost five straight and seven of nine after Thursdays 4-2 loss at home to the undermanned Los Angeles Kings. Connor McDavid hasnt scored in 10 games and was minus-3, and the Oil have been outscored 18-9 during the losing skid. Amazingly, the team still holds onto a playoff spot thanks to its strong start but sadly the past seems very much like the future for the Oilers. ' ' '