MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Coach Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State defense are getting ready for a visit from West Virginias low-diving circus act.Mountaineer wide receivers Jovon Durante, Daikiel Shorts and KaRaun White all made difficult catches in traffic last week against TCU, and the Cowboys took notice.They were pretty impressive in the way they were able to catch the football, Gundy said. Theres a reason theyre undefeated. Theyre playing really good football. Youve got to be sound on defense and youve got to find ways to make plays.If West Virginia wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier was excited by what happened against TCU, he wasnt showing it.After studying film with his players, he asked them to rate their performances.They said, `Well, besides the good catches, coach, we didnt do much, which is right on, Carrier said. Those guys are not satisfied with what they have been doing. They know there is a lot more football to be played and a lot more opportunities to prove that they are really good.The next one comes Saturday when No. 10 West Virginia (6-0, 3-0) plays at Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1).Shorts got things going against TCU on West Virginias opening possession -- not for a catch but for his effort afterward to bull through a defender into the end zone for a 10-yard score.Two series later, Shorts turned around in time 38 yards downfield to make a one-handed grab against his chest between two defenders to set up another touchdown.That was just the start.Just before halftime, quarterback Skyler Howard threw 30 yards downfield where Durante dove in front of TCUs Denzel Johnson and Nick Orr, pulled the ball just off the turf and flipped.Its always been our mind set that if its not our ball, its nobodys ball, Durante said. If its a hard catch, were going to make that catch.It was Whites turn in the third quarter.The brother of Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White went high for a catch and tapped his toe along the sideline for a 24-yard gain.Later Howard scrambled to his right and threw a 16-yard floating pass toward the end zone that came down at the intersection of four diving players, including White and teammate Devonte Mathis. White cradled the ball into his chest just above the ground. The TD was upheld upon review.Howard said the TCU game was one of his sloppier ones and that his receivers bailed me out. They really stepped it up.Not bad for a unit that was criticized for its sloppiness a year ago.Shorts has a team-best 31 catches and White is next with 27. Neither is considered West Virginias best deep threat. That label goes to Shelton Gibson, who has a team-high 501 yards and an average of 20 yards per catch.Durante has perhaps shown the greatest improvement from a year ago, when he had numerous drops and caught just six passes for 131 yards over the final seven regular-season games. He was academically ineligible for West Virginias bowl game and was subsequently suspended for the spring semester.Moved to the inside slot position, Durante has 20 catches, almost as many as he had all of last season.Howard has spread his 12 touchdown throws among seven receivers.Theyve got a bunch of explosive guys that were going to have to watch out for, said Oklahoma State safety Jordan Sterns, who has three interceptions and a pair of pass breakups.---Online:More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.orgMarc Gasol Grizzlies Jersey . 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Lorenzen Wright Grizzlies Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .DAKAR, Senegal -- Former British police officer Ben Hooper hopes to make history by swimming every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America. After more than three years of preparation, he set off on Sunday.The 38-year-old walked down a beach in Dakar and into the Atlantic Ocean, launching a swim for 1,635 nautical miles, or nearly 2,000 land miles (3,200 kilometers), from Senegal to Brazil.This is for my daughter, said Hooper, who filled a water bottle with sand to keep for the 8-year-old who he said inspired the swim. Its been a long time coming.Flanked by two boats and a crew of less than a dozen, Hooper aims to be the first person to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from continent to continent, stepping on land again in March.He says he trained three years as he gathered a crew for the Big Blue, the main boat on which he will eat and sleep when he is not swimming for about eight hours each day through waters infested with sharks and jellyfish.Water has loomed large in his life.I nearly drowned when I was 5 in a swimming pool in Belgium, Hooper told The Associated Press. Ever since ... Ive had this affinity with water. It was the calmest Ive ever felt.Hooper said he had a bout of depression about 3 1/2 years ago and decided to turn his life around for his daughter. So he looked to water.Nobody had swum a full ocean. More people have landed on the moon than have tried this, so at that point I thought maybe this is my calling, said Hooper. If I can inspire myself, other people and raise mooney for charity, why not do it?Inspired by British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Hooper said he hopes to motivate others, especially children, to swim.ddddddddddddFunding for the expedition has taken time, and the launch was set back several times as various crew members dropped out and the boats faced mechanical issues.This will be a major achievement overall, said Nigel Taylor-Schofield, the captain of Big Blue. If anybody can accomplish this, it would be Ben. He is very determined.The crew, including a paramedic, will track the miles, and Hooper has said if he gets to Brazil with the help of currents, he will swim until he fulfills the full Atlantic mileage.The challenges, be it marine life, dehydration, and more, will be vast, but Hooper says his biggest fear is letting the team and his daughter down. Hell listen to a playlist on customized earphones that he said will include eurotrash music, Eminem and The Scripts Hall of Fame. Hooper will also wear various gear that helps camouflage him from sharks, and a tracking device so supporters can follow his nearly five-month swim online.Around 10:30 a.m. on the beach outside the Monaco Plage hotel in Dakar, Hooper and the crew were ready.See you in Brazil, he said, before eventually swimming off into the sunlit waters toward his goal.---http://www.swimthebigblue.com/--Follow Carley Petesch on Twitter at www.twitter.com/carleypetesch ' ' '
