it all. But like anything, it takes dedication and sacrifices at times. Its a give-and-take with everything in my life.There are a lot of things I would never do if it wasnt for CrossFit. We have track workouts. I dont like running very much, but having people around you creates a little competition,

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger doesnt expect his Sooners to reach last years Final Four-level status immediately with so many new faces.Thats why hes fine with the baby steps they took on Tuesday. Freshman Kristian Doolittle scored 17 points to help Oklahoma defeat Northern Colorado 87-66.The young Sooners have three new starters, and four freshmen played at least 10 minutes against the Bears.Theres not an unrealistic expectation from my perspective, Kruger said. Weve got a lot of work to do. We need a lot of reps. These games are all great for us. Every time these guys get on the floor and get a little more comfortable and identify their role in a game situation, its huge for us.Doolittle did his damage on 7-for-8 shooting and added five rebounds in just 18 minutes off the bench. He scored 11 points in the second half to help the Sooners pull away.Jordan Woodard had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He didnt know he was so close to a triple-double.I just got some rebounds, he said. I was just trying to be aggressive. Coach wanted everybody to stay in attack mode.Christian James added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Sooners (5-1), who shot 54 percent from the field.Jordan Davis had 15 points and seven assists, DJ Miles scored 11 points and Chaz Glotta added 10 points for Northern Colorado (2-5).Oklahoma led 40-34 at halftime behind seven points, six rebounds and four assists from Woodard. Northern Colorado scored the first five points of the second half to cut Oklahomas lead to 40-39, but the Sooners finally got things going. A technical foul against Northern Colorado coach Jeff Linder helped spark the Sooners to a 10-point lead with about nine minutes to play. Woodard sent the fans to the exits when he made a circus layup and was fouled to put the Sooners up 79-61 with about three minutes to go.The Sooners outrebounded Northern Colorado 26-16 in the second half, and the Bears committed 15 turnovers overall.With their length and athleticism, they can make a few more mistakes than we can and kind of make up for it, Linder said.BIG PICTURENorthern Colorado: The Bears were battle tested with losses to traditionally strong programs Butler, Santa Clara, Arizona and Bucknell. They hung tough with the Sooners until the final minutes, and may be a handful for teams in the Big Sky Conference.These guys, for being such a young team, and a new coaching staff, they have not shown one ounce of fear, Linder said.Oklahoma: The Sooners struggled against a non-power five conference opponent for the second straight game -- they defeated Abilene Christian 72-64 last Friday.STAT LINESOklahoma center Khadeem Lattin had five blocks and three steals to go with 10 points. He spearheaded a defense that allowed just 36.6 percent shooting.He affected a lot of things on the defensive end, Kruger said.NEW STARTERMatt Freeman, a freshman from New Zealand, got his first start in Doolittles place. He didnt score and took just two shots in 13 minutes.Doolittle said not starting for the first time this season affected him.To say the least, but I didnt take it personally, he said. I have all the faith in the world in Matt to go out there and do a great job.UP NEXTNorthern Colorado hosts Northern New Mexico on Saturday.Oklahoma travels to No. 17 Wisconsin on Saturday. The Sooners will have their best chance to shake off their sluggish play and show they havent fallen off too much since Buddy Hield left for the NBA.Good challenge there, Kruger said. Kohl Center is a tough place to play. A top-ranked team -- we respect that. Weve got to go in there and value the ball and compete like crazy on the boards and defensively.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .Nike Vapormax Bestellen . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Nike Vapormax Sale .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.vapormaxnederland.com/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Nike Vapormax Kopen . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Vapormax Nederland . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team.Finding balance is tough as a mother with a full-time job. And its damn near impossible to do while training as an elite athlete. Yet CrossFit athlete Tonia Osborne, 45, competes in the masters womens 45-49 age division while being a mother of two and working full time as a program manager at Panasonic Avionics Corp. As the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games kick off Tuesday in Carson, California, Osborne -- who finished first in the open portion of the games for the Southern California region, and ranked second overall in the masters qualifier -- is a serious threat to win her division. I never thought Id be where I am today with this career and this sport, says Osborne, who placed fifth in the 40-44 age division at last years Games. Hailing from Racine, Wisconsin, Osborne competed in gymnastics until the age of 18, and it was those similar elements of CrossFit -- muscle-ups, handstand pushups -- that drew her to the sport nearly five years ago. Now, the 5-foot-2, 140-pound competitor credits the mental and physical preparation of that early gymnastics career with her success at a later age -- something she hopes could empower others. Hopefully, Im inspiring to other people, Osborne says. If I can do it, they can do it.Ive been athletic throughout my whole life, Tonia Osborne says. After my second child, I was feeling stagnant and wanted a challenge. There was this new thing called CrossFit, so I tried it and loved it right away.Handstand walks are one of the CrossFit elements that uses Osbornes gymnastics skills. She competed as an elite gymnast until the grind became too much. As I got older, injuries and fear factor kind of deterred me from wanting to [compete] any further.Osborne squeezes in at least two workouts each day -- one at lunch, one after work, and sometimes a third whenever it fits best.Most athletes get down time after a hard workout. I dont get to go relax or recover. I have to go get birthday presents, take the kids to activities -- Im constantly moving.Ive really tried to make my workout schedule around when the kids arent home, so that I can be home with them.We enjoy being together and doing family things, especially on the weekends when were all around and dont have activities.In CrossFit, theres a lot of strong-man stuff. You lift heavy stuff. Its taxing, but it really focuses on stabilization and your core.Osborne prioritizes her family and her kids as much as possible. She says theyre an active group and will go swimming, go to theme parks and movies, and love to play games together.The expectation is high. If Im not first and instead am second or third, then thats what it is, as long as II feel like I did the best that I could.ddddddddddddThe CrossFit Games are held outside of the StubHub Center in Carson, California, in the hot Southern California sun. Osborne has been training outside, but it still makes her a bit nervous. Its an element you cant really predict.The community of CrossFit really makes a difference. The support and the friendship really drew me in.Osborne works as a program manager at Panasonic Avionics. She often takes conference calls in the morning and during breaks for her workouts to fit everything into her daily schedule.I have a great support system. I have my husband who supports me, and a live-in nanny who helps with the kids. Shes been with us for six years, so shes a part of the family. They help me with my time management and the house and just the day-to-day stuff.I dont want to have any regrets. I have this opportunity and Im going to go for it.Osborne is fitted with the NormaTec recovery system, a $3,600 machine that is used in the medical field on dialysis patients to flush out fluids after treatment. It is also popular with elite triathlon and CrossFit athletes for the same reason.Im a mom, a wife, an elite athlete, a professional, a PTA mom, I do it all. But like anything, it takes dedication and sacrifices at times. Its a give-and-take with everything in my life.There are a lot of things I would never do if it wasnt for CrossFit. We have track workouts. I dont like running very much, but having people around you creates a little competition, which helps.A lot of top CrossFit athletes were high-level athletes in some sport. Obviously gymnastics is one where it translates to CrossFit very easily. There are a ton of gymnastics elements that I was good at right away because of my background.Im a competitive person. I like challenging myself and having something to shoot for. I guess Im good at [CrossFit]. When youre good at something, you want to put the effort into it and excel at it.Being a top athlete at my age is an incredible accomplishment. I started doing this for fitness, but then I thought, Why not push myself? Its empowering as a woman to be able to do all that I do and be successful.To be successful, I think you have to have that blind belief in knowing that you can win. Youve done the work and put in the time, so why not me? Why cant I win?I want to win this year. It would be the highlight of my career with CrossFit and all the hard work Ive put in. Showing that I can win doing all that I do is a good story for people. ' ' '