Kansas State hands Kansas its first loss
MANHATTAN, Kan., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Michael Beasley led a second-half assault and scored 25 points Wednesday, giving Kansas State an 84-75 upset victory over No. 2 Kansas.
The 24th-ranked Wildcats handed the Jayhawks their first loss of the season and took the lead in the Big 12.
Members of the student body rushed onto the court and covered the entire floor of the Fred Bramlage Coliseum when the game ended.
Beasley, a freshman who is fourth in the country in scoring, carried Kansas State to a two-point halftime edge and the Wildcats were still clinging to a four-point advantage with 13:30 to play.
Kansas State (15-4, 5-0 Big 12) then went on a 10-1 run and the Wildcats held the Jayhawks at bay the rest of the way to win their sixth straight game.
Bill Walker added 22 for Kansas State and Jacob Pullen had 20. Beasley made nine of 14 shots from the field and three of four free throws. He contributed four of Kansas State's 12 three-pointers.
Kansas (20-1, 5-1) was led by Mario Chalmers with 28.
With the loss by Kansas, No. 1 Memphis was left as the only undefeated team in major college basketball.
Brady taken off Patriots' injured list
TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- New England took quarterback Tom Brady off its injured list Wednesday and he went through a practice session without an obvious limp.
New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, meanwhile, was held out of his team's Super Bowl workout session as he tries to recover from an ankle injury.
Brady, who last week wore a protective boot to prevent further damage to a sprained ankle of his own, went through Wednesday's practice with no problems. New England Coach Bill Belichick, however, said there was room for improvement throughout the team.
"I've seen better," Belichick said of the practice. "There's always things to work on. We have plenty of them."
Burress has been working on a limited basis since injuring an ankle late in the regular season.
"We held him out today," New York Coach Tom Coughlin said. "Hopefully, he'll work tomorrow."
The teams meet for the NFL championship Sunday.
Poulter says he can challenge Tiger Woods
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- England's Ian Poulter Wednesday became the latest golfer to verbally challenge the dominance of world No. 1 Tiger Woods.
On the eve of the start of the Dubai Desert Classic, Poulter was quoted in Golf World magazine as saying that he was the only player capable of challenging Woods' supremacy.
"Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer," Poulter said. "But I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger."
Poulter, 32, a winner on the European Tour seven times, is No. 22 in the most recent world rankings.
In response to a question about the first two major tournaments this season in the United States, he said Woods would win the Masters and for the second major -- the U.S. Open -- he said: "You can put me down for that one."
Poulter's best finish this season is a tie for ninth at the Abu Dhabi Championship two weeks ago.
Woods is also playing in Dubai, coming off an eight-shot victory in his season's debut at the Buick Invitational.
Rams make Saunders offensive coordinator
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Al Saunders, dismissed last weekend by the Washington Redskins, was hired Wednesday as offensive coordinator by the St. Louis Rams.
Sanders served two seasons as associate head coach in Washington and previously had been on the staff of both St. Louis and Kansas City.
He signed a three-year deal to replace Greg Olson, who left the Rams to become quarterback coach with Tampa Bay.
"I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to announce that Al Saunders is our new offensive coordinator," Rams Coach Scott Linehan said. "The process took time. We wanted to be patient. When Al became available and we were granted permission to talk to him, it became obvious he was the right man for the job."
