Chat » .. Baylor has won 39 consecutive non-conference home

For 12 monotonous rounds, light heavyweight contender Andre Ward toyed with the painfully slow and overmatched Alexander Brand en route to a shutout decision on Saturday night in a fight every bit the overwhelming mismatch most expected -- but at least it set up one of the most significant and fascinating fights in boxing.Ward, fighting before a hometown crowd of 8,653 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, won every second of the fight in a 120-108 rout on all three scorecards.It was the final step to a long-awaited showdown with unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev, whom he will meet Nov. 19 on HBO PPV, probably at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in a fight that has been signed for months. However, Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Ward (30-0, 15 KO) had to successfully navigate interim bouts to seal the deal.In a Russian homecoming defense on July 11, Kovalev, 33, did his part as he retained his 175-pound world title for the eighth time. He scored a seventh-round knockdown and rolled to a one-sided unanimous decision against top-10 contender Isaac Chilemba.And then Ward, 32, the former super middleweight world champion in his second fight since making the move to 175 pounds, took apart Brand, who was as big of an underdog as has ever been seen. According to Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, Ward was a minus-10,000 favorite, meaning somebody would have to bet $10,000 on Ward to win just $100.The fighters purses also made it clear who was supposed to win. Ward made $850,000, and Brand made a measly $30,000, probably the lowest for an HBO-televised main event ever.Ward had his way with Brand, who got the fight only after at least three others turned it down. Ward poked him with hard jabs throughout the fight, confused him when he switched to southpaw in the fifth round and hurt him with right hands to the body.Brand (25-2, 19 KOs), in the meantime, did virtually nothing other than back up, grab, hold and look for a way to survive for 12 rounds.One of Wards stinging jabs opened a cut on Brands left eyelid in the seventh round. But before and after the cut Brand never showed any urgency. Ward, 32, at least appeared to be going for a knockout in the later rounds, but Brand, 39, a former amateur standout from Colombia, has a reputation for having an excellent chin.We knew this guy was going to be really, really hard to knock out. Hes a veteran, said Ward, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist who was boxing on the day that the 2016 Olympic tournament began in Rio de Janeiro. People got to realize that when a guy with experience doesnt want to get knocked out, its hard, and hes throwing punches from crazy angles and has got nothing to lose. So I tried to press it. Didnt get it. But its good to get the rounds.According to CompuBox punch statistics, Ward landed ?190 of 490 blows (39 percent), and Brand landed only 45 of 285 (16 percent). Brand never had a round in which he landed double-digit punches, and he landed only two in the second and fourth rounds and just one of 20 punches in the 11th round.When the fight was over, Ward and Kovalev, who had watched at ringside, shook hands in the ring and formally announced their fight in an HBO interview with Max Kellerman.Im excited. Im looking forward to it, Ward said. I want to be the light heavyweight champion of the world. I had to get past this step. He had to get past his step. Ill see you in November.Said Kovalev when asked about the fight: Of course, Im ready. Hes ready. Im ready, too. I want to say lets do this Nov. 19.Ward, who was reluctant to speak about the Kovalev fight despite being asked about it constantly going into his tuneup match with Brand, showed immense respect for his next opponent.You got to respect Sergey for the way hes gotten to where hes got, Ward said. He hasnt had soft touches. He wasnt protected. And he wasnt really pushed by the media. Hes a guy who should get more credit than he has. The winner of the fight could possibly be pound-for-pound [No. 1].With Kovalev and Ward already top-five stalwarts on virtually every pound-for-pound list, many believe the winner of their toss-up showdown will earn recognition as the best fighter in the world, one of the reasons so many have been looking forward to it. The same could not be said for Ward-Brand. Byron Buxton Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Martin Perez Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-rod-carew-jersey/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Jason Castro Twins Jersey . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Justin Morneau Twins Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. WACO, Texas -- Baylor fans filled the arena with the obligatory chants over Over-rated! in the closing minutes as the ninth-ranked Bears were closing out a convincing victory over No. 7 Xavier.Maybe they should have been chanting Under-rated! for their own team.Manu Lecomte scored 24 points, Johnathan Motley had 17 points with eight rebounds and the Bears took over in the second half for a 76-61 victory Saturday. Less than a month into the season, they already have three wins over Top 10 teams for the first time.We just go out and play hard every day, Motley said, when asked if the Bears were still ranked too low. Whatever rankings say, thats what they say. I guarantee you every day, every game, were going to come out with the same intensity. Play together as a family. Were all in, and it results in Ws.Baylor (8-0) started the season unranked and not even getting any votes. They moved to No. 20 in the second poll of the regular season, after a win over then-No. 4 Oregon, and shot up to No. 9 with a first-place vote in the last poll after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis with wins over then-No. 24 Michigan State and then-No. 10 Louisville.Now they have another impressive victory by beating Xavier (7-1), which led by as many as nine points before halftime. The Bears came from behind in the second half like they did in all three games last week in the Bahamas.Give Baylor a lot of credit. Theyre awfully good. Its nothing we didnt know coming in, Xavier coach Chris Mack said. Theyve been a second-half team seems like all year so far, and today was no different.Xavier led 51-50 when Edmond Sumner, who had 19 points, hit a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play. The Musketeers then went almost 9 minutes before making another field goal.Lecomte, the former Miami transfer, put Baylor ahead to stay with two free throws. By time he made a jumper with 3:36 left, it capped a 21-2 run to put the Bears up 71-53.Trevon Bluiett, who led the Musketeers with 23 points and fouled out, made a 3-pointer with 2:33 for their first basket since their last leead.ddddddddddddBIG PICTUREXavier: The Musketeers had won 21 consecutive non-conference games since a double-overtime loss at Auburn two years ago. They were 3-0 against Top 10 opponents last season, but the Big Easts best team in field goal percentage couldnt hold down Baylor.Baylor: The Bears, who now have 10 days between games because of final exams, have passed their big tests on the court so far. Lecomte has been a spark with returners Motley, Al Freeman and Ishmael Wainright in the starting lineup, along with 7-footer Jo Lual-Acuil. Their next big game is the Dec. 30 Big 12 opener at Oklahoma.A BAYLOR FIRSTIt was Baylors first victory in a matchup of Top 10 teams. The Bears were 0-6 in the previous such games, all of them in Big 12 play -- including five during the 2011-12 season. ... Baylor has won 39 consecutive non-conference home games over the last four years.HE SAID ITWe went a bunch of times into the post. We lost the ball. We had three or four turnovers where the ball got knocked out of our hands. We had opportunities when we got fouled to go to the free throw line and convert, and we missed. -- Mack.POLL IMPLICATIONSWith Xavier among three Top 10 losers Saturday, that makes room for Baylor to move up a few spots in the new AP Top 25 on Monday. The Musketeers could fall out of the Top 10, but probably not by much.UP NEXTXavier plays its next two games against Pac-12 teams, going to Colorado on Wednesday and then hosting Utah next Saturday. The game against Utah is the first of four consecutive home games, a stretch that will conclude with the Big East Conference opener against Providence on Dec. 28.Baylors next game is Dec. 14 vs Southern University, one of three SWAC teams that will play in a four-game stretch over eight days when they also host John Brown, an NAIA school from Arkansas.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '