shington, Jacksonville State, James Madison, Sam Houston State, The Citadel, North Dakota and South Dakota State are thankful to first-round byes on Thanksgiving weekend.T i

PHOENIX -- Dave Joerger is off to a winning start with the Sacramento Kings.The Kings gave the former Memphis coach a 113-94 season-opening victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, led by 24 points from DeMarcus Cousins and 22 from Rudy Gay.The Kings won an opener for the first time in three years and gave Joerger a victory in his Sacramento debut.The Kings used an 18-1 run from its second unit to take control in the first half and was up by as many as 26 points in the third quarter.First we kind of came out a little rusty,. Cousins said. The second group came in with incredible energy and really opened the game up and really got energy going. Basically, there was no looking back from there.Joerger brings a defensive mindset to the Kings.They got after it on defense, Joerger said of his second unit in the big run. The key for our defense is to set it. We executed offensively and didnt turn it over. When we did that, we were able to set our defense. `Gay said the Kings are buying in.Were helping each other, Gay said. That was one of the things at camp we worked on. We have to help each other and play as a team.Devin Booker, plagued by foul trouble, scored 18 points for the Suns. Eric Bledsoe added 16 and T.J. Warren had 14. Dragan Bender, the 18-year-old fourth overall pick in this years draft, scored 10 points for Phoenix, all in the second half.Weve got some adjustments to do, said Bledsoe, in his first game since injuring his knee last December. They went on a run, we could never bounce back from it. Its the first game.A lineup featuring all three Phoenix draft picks -- first-rounders Bender and Marquese Chriss and second-rounder Tyler Ulis -- got the Suns back within 10. Bender hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter and Chriss scored inside to slice it to 86-76 with 9:07 to play.It was fun to watch, Suns coach Earl Watson said. Dragan came in and gave us great minutes. Marquese is Marquese. I think the biggest surprise out of the second unit was Tyler. His defense on the ball was aggressive and we need that energy.But Gay scored seven points and Matt Barnes had five in a 12-1 outburst to put the Kings back firmly in control 98-77.Sacramentos reserves dominated their Phoenix counterparts to give the Kings their big first-half lead.Ben McLemore scored six points and Garrett Temple and Willie Cauley Stein added four apiece in a 16-1 run to end the first quarter, with the Kings leading 30-19. Anthony Tolliver made a 6-foot floater to open the second quarter to make it an 18-1 run and a 32-19 lead.Temples 17-footer with 2.8 seconds left in the half gave Sacramento its biggest lead of the game thus far, 57-39.KIDS CORPSWhen Bender entered the game in the third quarter, Phoenix became the first team to have three teenagers appear in a game. Chriss is 19 and Booker barely made it. He turns 20 on Sunday.McCOY HONOREDSuns owner Robert Sarver took the microphone and told Suns longtime broadcaster Al McCoy that he would be added to the Ring of Honor on March 3. The 83-year-old McCoy has been the Suns radio announcer for 40 seasons.TIP-INSKings: Cousins scored 10 straight Sacramento points in the third quarter. ... Sacramento last won a season opener in 2013, beating the Denver Nuggets.Suns: The Suns won 23 games last season, second-worst record in the teams 48-year history. ... Phoenix has missed the playoffs the last six seasons. ... Chriss drew a flagrant foul with 5:37 left in the third quarter. ... Booker got in early foul trouble and had a brief shoving match with Cousins in the second quarter.UP NEXTKings: Play their home opener Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs.Suns: Travel to Oklahoma City for the Thunders home opener on Friday night.Jesper Bratt Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Blake Coleman Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-kyle-palmieri-devils-jersey/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Will Butcher 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. Sami Vatanen Devils Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness.(STATS) -- The FCS was alphabet soup even in the days when it was called NCAA Division I-AA, so with the best playoffs in college football beginning on Saturday, its good to know the 24 teams in the field from A to Z.NDSU, er, North Dakota State is the five-time defending champ, but there are plenty of contenders to be the FCS champ.Enjoy all the fun.With this years field …A is for coach Andy Talley. The retiring Villanova coach goes into his 12th playoff appearance with a 2009 FCS title and 257 career wins (229 with the Wildcats) to his credit.B is for the backup quarterbacks. Richmond is turning to its backup to make his first career start in the first round. Charleston Southern, Lehigh, New Hampshire, North Carolina A&T, Wofford and Youngstown State are other teams playing in the first round that havent simply relied on one quarterback to win games.C is for coaches. There are nine who have earned their conferences coach of the year award already: North Dakotas Bubba Schwiegert (Big Sky), Charleston Southerns Jamey Chadwell (Big South), James Madisons Mike Houston (CAA), South Dakota States John Stiegelmeier (Missouri Valley), Saint Francis Chris Villarrial (Northeast), Jacksonville States John Grass (Ohio Valley), Lehighs Andy Coen (Patriot), The Citadels Brent Thompson (Southern) and Sam Houston States K.C. Keeler (Southland).D is for Dakota. Three of the eight seeded teams are North Dakota State (1), North Dakota (7) and South Dakota State (8).E is for eleven. There are 11 teams back in the field from a year ago. None has been better about coming back than New Hampshire, which is making its 13th straight appearance under coach Sean McDonnell.F is Frisco. The growing Dallas suburb is the neutral site host to the championship game for the seventh consecutive season. Toyota Stadium is undergoing renovation, so seating capacity has dropped from 20,086 to about 15,300.G is for great games. Its what we all want during this grand time of the season.H is for home field advantage. Theres only one playoff game without it -- the championship. Eleven of the playoff qualifiers, including six seeded teams, were unbeaten at home in the regular season, and all of the qualifiers combined to go 112-15 (.882).I is for incomparable. Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp holds the FCS and Division I records for receptions (402), receiving yards (6,061) and touchdown receptions (68).J is for Jeremiah Briscoe. The Sam Houston State quarterback leads the FCS in passing yards (4,096), passing yards per game (372.4), touchdown passes (52), passing efficiency (187.0) and points responsible for per game (28.9). Hes four shy of the FCS single-season record for touchdown passes.K is for keeping drives alive. Playoff qualifiers Cal Poly, James Madison, Eastern Washington, San Diego, Sam Houston State and Lehigh are the only teams in the FCS whose third down conversion rates are above 50 percent.L is for losses. Central Arkansas, Chattanooga, North Carolina A&T, Richmond, Saint Francis, Samford and The Citadel ended the regular seasson with a defeat.dddddddddddd But that was then, this is now …M is for momentum. Illinois State, once 3-5, surged to an at-large bid with three straight season-ending wins. Sam Houston State has the longest winning streak (11) and is one of 11 teams in the field that havent lost since the calendar turned to November.N is for nicknames. The more unique ones are the Jackrabbits (South Dakota State), Penguins (Youngstown State), Red Flash (Saint Francis) and Toreros (San Diego). The most common is Wildcats (New Hampshire, Villanova and Weber State).O is for offense. Sam Houston State ranks No. 1 in the FCS in points per game and offensive yards per game, while Eastern Washington is No. 2 and 3, respectively, and Jacksonville State is No. 3 and 2, respectively.P is for the Palmetto State. South Carolina has a mini-tournament going on in the first two rounds as Charleston Southern visits Wofford before the winner heads to The Citadel.Q is for questionable calls. Its guaranteed a fan base will second-guess the head coach after a loss.R is for rematches. Avoiding them, that is, after last years field drew criticism for too many rematches. San Diego at Cal Poly is a first-round rematch (Cal Poly won 38-16 on Sept. 10), but there are only two possibilities in the second round (New Hampshire-James Madison and Wofford-The Citadel).S is for seeded teams. North Dakota State, Eastern Washington, Jacksonville State, James Madison, Sam Houston State, The Citadel, North Dakota and South Dakota State are thankful to first-round byes on Thanksgiving weekend.T is for turnovers. They decide so many games. Lehigh has committed the fewest turnovers (eight) in the FCS and North Dakota has the most takeaways (20) and best turnover margin (plus-17) in the field.U is for upsets. Yeah, bring em on.V is for coach Chris Villarrial. After Saint Francis didnt have a winning season in its first 22 years on the Division I level, the Red Flash have posted back-to-back winning records under a seventh-year coach who has them in the playoffs for the first time. North Dakota is the other first-time qualifier, but it didnt join Division I until 2008.W is for wide receivers. The field includes the top seven in the FCS in receiving yards: Saint Francis Kamron Lewis (1,349), Eastern Washingtons Cooper Kupp (1,297), Samfords Karel Hamilton (1,242) South Dakota States Jake Wieneke (1,204) and Dallas Goedert (1,146), Richmonds Brian Brown (1,179) and Lehighs Troy Pelletier (1,140).X is for X-factors. Special teams, senior leadership, injuries, weather, luck -- theyre all included.Y is for Youngstown State. The four-time national champion in the 1990s is back in the field for the first time since 2006, ending the longest drought among the 22 teams that were in the field previously.Z is for bye-zon. North Dakota State pronounces its Bison nickname as bye-zon. Yeah, theyre the five-time reigning national champs, they call the shots. ' ' '