10 games this year, including last weeks 108-yard day with three touchdowns.Miami (6-4, 3-3) enters this game near the middle of th

Greg Ballard, who played 11 NBA seasons and helped the Washington Bullets win the league title in his rookie season, died Wednesday from prostate cancer. He was 61.Ballard, a small forward who was the No. 4 overall pick out of Oregon in the 1977 draft, played in the NBA from 1977 to 1988. He played eight seasons with the Bullets (now Wizards) and two with the Golden State Warriors. After taking the 1987-88 season off, he returned to play two games for the Seattle SuperSonics and then retired.He averaged 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in his career. He won a championship with the Bullets in 1978, when Washington defeated the Sonics in six games in the NBA Finals.The Wizards and Oregon, where Ballard is the all-time leader in rebounds (1,114), paid tribute to Ballard on Twitter on Wednesday.Following his playing career, Ballard was an assistant coach and scout with the Atlanta Hawks for nine seasons (2004-13). He has been a scout for the Wizards the past two seasons.Ballard told the Portland Tribune in April that he had been battling cancer for the past four years. Custom NHL Jerseys China .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Cheap Olympic Hockey Jerseys .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. http://www.wholesalenhlauthenticjerseys.com/ . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Cheap Throwback NHL Jerseys . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Matt Dayes has been determined all season to be North Carolina States first 1,000-yard rusher in more than a decade and get the Wolfpack back to a bowl.Both goals are within reach Saturday against Miami in the teams home finale.The senior is 61 yards away from becoming the programs first runner to gain 1,000 yards in a season since T.A. McLendon did it in 2002. And considering the Wolfpacks offense has run its best when Dayes is moving the chains, hes likely to get a heavy load as N.C. State (5-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) tries to become bowl eligible for the third straight year.Obviously were always trying to establish the line of scrimmage, offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz said. Were just trying to find ways to win football games and move the ball up and down the field. And Matts a very effective way to do that.Dayes, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the leagues No. 3 rusher at 93.9 yards per game to go with seven scores and a 4.8 yards-per-carry average. More than half of his yards have come after contact, a sign that Dayes isnt afraid to run through tackles.He has seven 100-yard performances in 10 games this year, including last weeks 108-yard day with three touchdowns.Miami (6-4, 3-3) enters this game near the middle of the ACC in rushing defense (140.2) and holding opponents to 3.5 yards per carry, but the Hurricanes rank 13th nationally in scoring defense (19.3 points).That hasnt happened for them in a while, Miami coach Mark Richt said of Dayes run for 1,000, and I know theyre probably trying to knock that out this game. Thatll be a challenge for our guys.Miami has already secured bowl eligibility in its first season under Richt, and has bounced back with from a four-game losing streak with two straight wins.---Some other things to know about Saturdays Miami-N.C. State game:STYLE CLASH? Miami likes to be a quick-hitting offense and N.C. State is fine with a more methodical tempo-controlling approach. The Wolfpack had two touchdown drives of at least 6 miinutes against Syracuse last week alone -- while Miami has had only one such drive in the entire season.dddddddddddd They will definitely take what you give them, I can definitely say that, Miami defensive back Rayshawn Jenkins said.MOVING AGAIN: Miami has racked up 85 points and 984 yards in the past two games after failing to reach 30 points during its four-game skid. We blocked better, we executed most everything better, and we started a little faster, Richt said. We didnt get behind.KAAYA WATCH: Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya comes into the game with 9,004 career yards, 482 shy of tying Ken Dorsey for No. 1 on the Hurricanes all-time list. And he might need to be very sharp on Saturday, since N.C. State has allowed opponents only 3.0 yards per carry this season. The Hurricanes will test that with perhaps the ACCs best 1-2 rushing punch in Mark Walton and Joe Yearby; theyve combined for 5.7 yards per rush.INTANGIBLES: Richt said having a team thats pursuing bowl eligibility can make it easier to motivate your team. Throw in the fact that its the Wolfpacks Senior Day, and the coach knows his Hurricanes will face a tough test. Theres a lot of motivation thats kind of naturally built into this thing for them, and we have our reasons to be excited too now, Richt said. But two of those reasons right there, I think, play to their advantage.RIVALS, SORT OF: Most ACC teams in opposite divisions dont meet very often, and this is Miamis first visit to Raleigh since the final game of the 2008 regular season. The Hurricanes have played road games in 26 other cities since that trip eight years ago. No current N.C. State player has ever faced Miami.---AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college football at http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '