in front of a significantly smaller crowd. ET

SACRAMENTO -- After numerous children expressed appreciation to Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins for giving them a Christmas shopping spree, he expressed appreciation to his coach for supporting him.On Sunday, Kings coach Dave Joerger called The Sacramento Bees coverage of Cousins recent verbal confrontation with Bee columnist Andy Furillo ridiculous.I appreciate it. I think he understands where Im coming from, Cousins told The Undefeated. I dont really think it had anything to do with him trying to show that he has his players back. I generally think he understands where Im coming from.The Bee published video of Cousins cursing out Furillo last week over a newspaper column about the two-time NBA All-Stars recent involvement in an alleged assault on a couple at a New York City nightclub. The newspaper also labeled Cousins a bully and detailed other incidents in a piece written by its executive editor.Cousins showed appreciation for his coachs support after his fifth annual Santa Cuz event Monday night in Sacramento, at which he gave $200 shopping sprees to 100 underprivileged local children.Cousins said Joerger could relate to his situation because the first-year Kings coach also said Sunday he was unhappy with a Bee story in August that stated the names and ages of the coachs wife and two children in a story about his new home in a Sacramento suburb.Of course, he dealt with a similar situation with the same people, Cousins said. He gets it. I respect him for that. I respect him for speaking out. He doesnt have to. He went about it the right way. He spoke out on it. I respect him for that.Joerger had said of Cousins Sunday, This guy is the face of our franchise. Hes done and said some things that he wishes he could do over. Hes improved; hes gotten better. But to go and use other reporters, third person, Oh, he bullies his coaches or he bullies -- that is crap. And to put it out there like that, that is ridiculous.Cousins declined comment specifically on the Furillo incident. Ill let it be, Cousins said.A Kings spokesman said he would not talk about the New York City nightclub incident. Telvin Smith Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Yannick Ngakoue Youth Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. http://www.authenticjaguarslockroom.com/Youth-Jawaan-Taylor-Elite-Jersey/ . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Taven Bryan Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Ryquell Armstead Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The speedway that calls itself the last great Colosseum now will be temporarily transformed into the worlds largest football stadium.Tennessee and Virginia Tech meet Saturday night at the Bristol Motor Speedway, located approximately halfway between the two campuses. The showdown dubbed the Battle at Bristol is expected to draw over 150,000 fans, which would shatter the current NCAA single-game record of 115,109 at Michigan Stadium when the Wolverines beat Notre Dame in 2013.Its something that will live with these individuals for the rest of their lives, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said.A Tennessee-Virginia Tech matchup at Bristol had been discussed for about 20 years and finally was announced in 2013. Jerry Caldwell , the speedways general manager, said the facilitys unique characteristics made it ideal for this transformation.We jokingly say were a football stadium on steroids, Caldwell said. When you walk into the place, thats what you see. Thats what it feels like. You walk in and youre completely surrounded by stands just like you would be at a football stadium.Caldwell declined to disclose the costs of temporarily converting the speedway into a football stadium. Tennessee and Virginia Tech are both guaranteed $4 million because each school sold over 40,000 tickets. According to the game contract, each school also may receive an additional $300,000 because the grandstand seats sold out.This will be the speedways first football game since the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles played a 1961 exhibition game here that drew 10,000 fans to a facility that seated 20,000. Saturday nights event will have an entirely different atmosphere and feel.Im curious to see how the field will be and how far the stands and everything will be from the field, Virginia Tech receiver Isaiah Ford said.The speedway is hosting the football game less than three weeks after a Sprint Cup race.The morning after the race, 450 truckloads of rock and manufactured sand evened out the speedways bowl-shaped infield, which had a natural drop of about 3 feet from the edge to the middle. More than 100,000 square feet of AstroTurf were brought in to form the actual field, a process that was completed in about a week. Over 5,000 seats also were added.Sydney Stahlbaum of AstroTurf noted the company was part of similarly rapid installations before. NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, was converted from a grass surface to turf in four days in September 2015. Three years earlier, the company needed nine days to install turf in StubHub Center in Los Angeles for the 2012 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.A drivers meeting room was reconfigured into a locker rooom for Tennessee.dddddddddddd A tire mounting area now is Virginia Techs locker room. The coaches boxes and radio booths are where NASCAR officials generally monitor races. Technology was installed to allow instant replay and communication between coaches.Its a bit surreal, Caldwell said. Its been a lot of fun to take people in who havent seen it. The common word they use is `breathtaking to walk in and see this place completely converted. It feels like a football stadium.But of course, its not.Rather than having video scoreboards at each end zone, Bristol has Colossus -- a 700-ton overhead scoreboard with four high-resolution screens that is suspended above the infield. The seats and coaches boxes are much farther away from the field here than at a typical football stadium. Tennessee assistant athletic director for events management David Elliott said, Were telling both teams to have a ton of binoculars up in the coaches booth so they can see better there.Both teams plan to visit the field for a walkthrough Friday. Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said he doesnt do that for all road games but feels its essential this week so his players get acclimated to this unique environment and coaches can get a sense of their perspective from the boxes. Jones said the biggest challenge is making sure players focus on football and not the atmosphere.All this work isnt just for one football game.A week after Tennessee-Virginia Tech, Football Championship Subdivision programs East Tennessee State and Western Carolina will play here in front of a significantly smaller crowd. ETSU athletic director Richard Sander says its still a once-in-a-lifetime situation to play in that venue.Its certainly a step up for an ETSU program currently playing home games on a high school field while waiting for its new on-campus stadium to be completed.After that game, Bristol will be converted back into a racetrack. Stahlbaum said the stone base used to even out the infield will be reused around the property, while the field will be rolled up and stored.In the meantime, speedway officials will look for the next opportunity for this type of event.Our hope is that this will lead to other things, Caldwell said. Motorsports will remain our core business, its who we are, but we really think this will open us up to new opportunities, other football games, possibly other sports or other entertainment events.---AP Sports Writer Henry Kurz in Blacksburg, Virginia, contributed to this report.---The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '