e need to get better at tackling. ... There were not a lot of communication issues last game, but we can still improve there.We did a lot of good things but there are still some small things we can improve on.The

CHICAGO -- The Baltimore Orioles cling to a slim lead in the American League East, while the Chicago White Sox are trying to avoid tumbling further down the AL Central standings.The teams meet for a three-game series starting Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field.The Orioles (61-46) lead the Toronto Blue Jays in the division by percentage points after taking two of three against West leader Texas.I was impressed with how well our guys pitched against them because thats a tough lineup to go through and stay engaged in the game, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Thats the type of thing were going to have be able to do to get where we want to go.Since the All-Star break, Baltimore is 10-10. While the Orioles own the best home record in the majors at 39-17, on the road theyre just 22-29 and have lost seven of their last nine.The series could be interesting in terms of power. The Orioles top the majors with 161 home runs -- including 31 by right fielder Mark Trumbo, who has one more than White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier for the most in all of baseball. And U.S. Cellular Field can be a hitter-friendly park.The White Sox (52-56) are 7-13 in the second half and are returning from an eight-game road trip after dropping two of three to the Detroit Tigers. Chicago is 10 games behind AL Central leader Cleveland and seven games back in the wild card race.The White Sox and Baltimore split four games April 28-May 1 in Baltimore.For the Orioles, right-hander Yovani Gallardo (3-3, 5.70 ERA) is expected to start. He is winless in six starts since June 29. Gallardo allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings against Toronto in his last start Saturday. In 11 career innings against the White Sox, he has given up one unearned run.Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (2-5, 4.06 ERA) is scheduled to start for the White Sox in his first meeting with his former team. Baltimore released him during spring training after he posted a 9.78 ERA in six starts. Gonzalez was 39-33 with a 3.82 ERA in four seasons with the Orioles. Last month, Gonzalez went 1-2 with a 2.50 ERA and pitched six innings or more in all six starts.The White Sox are hoping first baseman Jose Abreu is heating up. He homered in Thursdays 6-3 victory over the Tigers for his first drive since June 23. He has 12 home runs after hitting 30 last season.It has been a long time and somewhere in there it has been dragging on him, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. His swings today were great. Hes been hitting a lot of balls right on the nose, which is a good sign for him.The last few days weve seen the ball jump off his bat, not chasing a lot of stuff. He looks pretty comfortable at the plate and everything coming off his bat is pretty solid.As far as injuries, White Sox rookie shortstop Tim Anderson is day to day after suffering a bruised left hand Thursday.It was relieving to get those X-rays negative, Anderson said. Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Dennis Rodman Lakers Jersey .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Wilt-Chamberlain-Lakers-Jersey/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Lakers Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Derek Fisher Lakers Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The threshold for climbing into Kansas State coach Bill Snyders good graces is quite high.Take the case of running back Charles Jones, who earned an uneven grade despite gashing Texas on Saturday because of his goal-line fumble. Or quarterback Jesse Ertz, whose near-flawless first half was followed by a tough second half that drew Snyders infamous ire.That may be why defensive end Jordan Willis has stood out so much.The senior had a pair of sacks in Saturdays 24-21 victory , giving him 22 1/2 for his career and moving him past Monty Beisel for fourth-most in school history. Willis also tied for the team lead with seven tackles, including three for a loss, and batted down a crucial pass at the line of scrimmage.It led to a glowing review from Snyder, no qualifiers involved.Jordan just plays so hard and he prepares exactly that way, the 77-year-old coach said. There is not one-tenth of a second of any snap that he takes that is not the best effort that he can give. I admire him and appreciate him so very much.Thats the flip-side of the high bar that Snyder sets. When you manage to achieve it, the feeling is almost otherworldly -- like a player has somehow qualified for the most exclusive of clubs.Willis has managed to scratch and claw his way in over the past four years.He was a lightly recruited defensive end out of perennial power Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, and wound up choosing the Wildcats over an offer from Indiana and not much else. But he made big strides from the moment he set foot on campus, and even earned playing time as a freshman.That would be another rarity in Snyders program.He still remembers his first sack, too. It was against Iowa State as a freshman and he had gotten into the game in the fourth quarter. It was third down and Willis lost containment on the quarterback, but managed to track him down before he got across the line of scrimmage.It went down as a sack. Willis got bawled out by the coaches on the sideline.That was not onnly his only sack that season, it was his only tackle.dddddddddddd But Willis fought his way into the lineup more as a sophomore, piling up 4 1/2 sacks in 11 games, and added 8 1/2 sacks and 14 tackles for loss last year, when he earned a reputation as one of the Big 12s best pass rushers.Hes made improvement in that area, Snyder said. He just reacts quicker to certain things that have allowed his pass rush to become better. It is a matter of experience again.Perhaps the reason that Willis has been so successful is that his own standard is quite high. And in that respect, he walks lock-step with his hard-to-please coach.I think my pass rush can always be better, he said. There are always small things like pad level that we can improve on, but as a team we need to get better at tackling. ... There were not a lot of communication issues last game, but we can still improve there.We did a lot of good things but there are still some small things we can improve on.The Wildcats (4-3, 2-2) are not a team of star power, like they were with Collin Klein or Tyler Lockett or Darren Sproles in years past. Their offense takes on a decidedly committee-like approach to moving the ball, and their defense is a collection of solid, blue-collar players.As a result, Willis has become one of the few players who have stood out.Yet of all the things that endears him to Snyder, his desire to put the team first might just top the list. Willis has made enough plays that his spot in the Kansas State record book is secure, but he would rather the record ultimately show that his team was a winner.Weve had our ups and downs, he said. Right now, were a team that is doing well and then not so well -- its just a matter of putting it all together. I know Coach Snyder has been speaking about it, so its just a matter of starting the game and finishing the game and doing it all the way. ' ' '