NORMAN, Okla. -- Baker Mayfields quarterbacking style could be encapsulated in two consecutive plays last season against TCU.On the first, Mayfield escaped a collapsing pocket, tucked the ball and took off. Near midfield, TCU safety Derrick Kindred came barreling down upon him. Yet instead of sliding, Mayfield cut in front of Kindred for another 15 yards before eventually being dragged down from behind.The next snap, Mayfield tried to convert another broken play into a big one. Scrambling around in the backfield, he broke one tackle. Then a second. Then a third. But as Mayfield stumbled to the turf, TCU linebacker Ty Summers speared him in the back of the helmet. Summers got ejected. But after a halftime concussion diagnosis, Mayfield was lost for the game as well. With Mayfield on the sideline, the Horned Frogs rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit and were a two-point conversion away from ending Oklahomas College Football Playoff dreams.As a player so valuable to their national championship aspirations, the Sooners have obviously asked Mayfield to rein it in this season, right?Think again.You can only make him play a certain way, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops countered. You can only govern that to a degree. Otherwise all of a sudden hes not Baker, and hes not effective.Baker being Baker is what ultimately transformed the Sooners from a middling squad in 2014 to a national title contender last season.That included Mayfield willing Oklahoma to an improbable fourth-quarter comeback at Tennessee, in which he evaded tackler after tackler to engineer a pair of late touchdown drives that sent the game to overtime, where the Sooners ultimately prevailed.That also included him delivering the game-clinching touchdown pass at Baylor, in which he danced around in the backfield for a full nine seconds before finding fullback Dimitri Flowers in the end zone.But that too included him being lost for the game against TCU. And again for the final minutes against Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl, in which he dove at the thighs of Tigers linebacker Ben Boulware after Boulware intercepted him near the goal line. Mayfield made the tackle, but also was knocked out of the game with a head injury that wasnt determined to be a concussion, but caused a ringing in his ear that temporarily offset his equilibrium.Thats the competitive nature I have, said Mayfield, when asked why he rarely slides when more yards are to be had. Always been that way.The Sooners arent looking to change that about their Heisman hopeful, either.Of course we want to keep him healthy. We dont want to do anything thats reckless there, offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. But if he doesnt play aggressive, then were not going to score points anyways, and its not going to matter whos at quarterback. Hes got to play aggressive. Weve got to be smart about it, hes going to be smart about it. But thats why we have more than one quarterback here.Riley and Stoops have been raving about the development of true freshman backup Austin Kendall, the only other eligible scholarship quarterback on the roster. But Mayfield is the reason Oklahoma is again the favorite in the Big 12 and looking for a return trip to the playoff.He creates excitement for everyone, Stoops said. Even if were in a two-minute drill, or a third-down sequence [in practice] when were seeing whos the winner and loser, hes agitating the defense so it gets them fired up. He creates energy all the time, which helps everyone. Its natural for him, and thats what I think makes it so special. Those guys want to block for a guy they know is going to scramble until hes out of breath to find a way to make plays. Everyone is going to play harder for a guy like that.They know with him, youve always got a chance.Indeed, the Sooners have fed off Mayfields brashness off the field and relentlessness on it. But theyre also one wrong hit away from becoming the same team that nearly collapsed against TCU.I just want him to be more careful, Oklahoma safety Ahmad Thomas?said. I know as a defensive player, if I see a quarterback running the way he does, Im going to try and hit him, too. So I just want him to be more careful and just know that sometimes its OK to just get down.Stoops is quick to rightly point out that both of Mayfields head injuries last season came off freak plays.If you think about it, he really didnt get hurt being Baker, he said. He got hurt by a cheap shot when he was on the ground. Thatll happen to anybody if youre allowed to dive on the back of a guys head. The other one, trying to tackle [Boulware] -- I told him, next time just grab him around the shirt and try to throw him down or hang on until someone else can hit him.Overall, though, running around being Baker, he handled that really well. Hopefully that will continue. Obviously weve talked that any hits that he can avoid, we need to try and avoid, to get out of bounds or to slide. Lets minimize the opportunities, anyway.Mayfield said that has been a focus of his offseason. To find the balance of being aggressive, while also avoiding unnecessary hits, whether thats throwing the ball away or sliding in front of a defender.But Mayfield added that when the game is on the line, hes going to play the way he always has.Its knowing the situation, the game were in, the score, he said. If were up a couple touchdowns, throw the ball away and live to play the next down.But if its a big game, and we need a first down on third-and-short, Im going to lower my shoulder. Im never going to shy away from that.Thats Baker being Baker. And to the Sooners, worth all the risk. Fake NBA Jerseys . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Fake Baseball Jerseys . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Fake Soccer Jerseys . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Replica Jerseys . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. NEW YORK -- Kristaps Porzingis came to the NBA from Europe as a 7-footer with 3-point range, so the comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki were inevitable.Jeff Hornacek figured the best way for Porzingis to play like Nowitzki was to play with Nowitzki.So the New York Knicks coach called Dallas coach Rick Carlisle in the offseason and asked if his veteran star would be open to working out with the second-year forward.Turns out, fraternizing with the enemy isnt only allowed, but some coaches even broker it.Most coaches, they want all the players in the league to do well, Hornacek said, and so when you have a young player like that, if you have a veteran on your team and somebody calls you up and says, `Hey, will this guy have him in his workouts, a lot of these guys get together anyway so its not that big a deal.Hornacek arranged similar tutoring when he was in Phoenix, getting big man Alex Len to work with the Spurs Tim Duncan. Carlisle wouldnt say if he ever made a request, but didnt think it was uncommon.Hey, things like this, theyre great stories in our game and its one of the reasons we have such a great game and the NBA is a family, Carlisle said.Nowitzki and Porzingis couldnt find time in their schedules, but may in the future. Perhaps Hornacek will even call again.Guys, especially the veteran guys, they like taking young guys kind of under their wing, showing them some tricks and hopefully maybe someday we can get Dirk to work with KP, Hornacek said.---HOWARD AND THE HAWKSAtlanta brought Dwight Howard in and let Al Horford leave, and traded Jeff Teague so Dennis Schroder could start.Most of the offseason focus was on how the Hawks changed, but for coach Mike Budenholzer, its more about how they stayed the same.The remainder of the roster is largely unchanged from the one that won a franchise-record 60 games two years ago and produced 108 victories over the last two seasons. So even after changing the point guard and center, perhaps the two most important positions on the floor, the Hawks are off to a 9-4 start thaat includes the only victory by a road team over NBA champion Cleveland.ddddddddddddI think the thing weve been talking about since the first day of camp is we brought back 10 or 11 guys, too, so I think its been a great balance of continuity with some significant change, Budenholzer said.And when you have 10 or 11 guys that have played together for a couple of years and had some success, and understand what we want to do and whats important to us, I think you can integrate some changes, including a point guard and Dwight. Maybe it just made it a little more possible for us to hopefully do it, I guess, with the results were having so far.---The NBA season reaches the one-month mark this week. A look at some things to watch:ROLLING INTO THE WEEK: Golden State (seven straight wins) and San Antonio (five in a row) ride long winning streaks into the week but are still looking up in the West at the Los Angeles Clippers, who have the NBAs best record at 12-2.HIGH SCORERS IN HOUSTON: DeMar DeRozan and James Harden, two of the NBAs top scorers and the reigning Eastern and Western Conference players of the week, go head-to-head Wednesday in Houston.LUKES LAKERS: The Warriors will try to avenge a loss to their former assistant coach when they visit Los Angeles on Friday. Luke Waltons Lakers beat the Warriors 117-97 on Nov. 4, ending Stephen Currys NBA-record streak of 157 games with a 3-pointer.BATTLE ON THE BACKBOARDS: The NBAs top rebounders meet for the first time this season Wednesday when Miamis Hassan Whiteside, averaging 16.2 rebounds, tangles with Detroits Andre Drummond (13.8).---HAPPY THANKSGIVING: There are no games on Thursday, making Thanksgiving one of only three nights off during the NBA season. But Black Friday is stacked, with all 30 teams in action. The NBA also doesnt play on Christmas Eve or the night of the NCAA championship game, scheduled this season for Monday, April 3. ' ' '