TEMPE, Ariz. Patrick Willis Jersey . -- Washington State coach Mike Leach earned himself a big fine and some harsh words from Arizona State coach Todd Graham after accusing the Sun Devils of stealing signs this week.Even if the Sun Devils knew what was coming, they had a hard time stopping Luke Falk and the Cougars.Falk threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns, helping Washington State hold off Arizona State 37-32 Saturday night in a game punctuated by heated words during the coaches postgame handshake.I respectfully decline on grounds that I might be publicly reprimanded and fined, so any questions about them I really dont plan to answer, said Leach, who repeated the refrain four times.Leach irritated the Sun Devils and Graham this week by repeating a comment from last season about Arizona State stealing signs. Washington and Oregon both used sheets to block their signs from Arizona State last season, so the sign-stealing accusations were nothing new.But the Pac-12 came down hard on Leach for his comments this time, hitting the coach with a $10,000 fine. Graham retorted during the week and again during the postgame handshake, using a pair of expletives picked up by TV cameras that sent Leach walking away, but would not elaborate when asked about the encounter after the game.Thats between me and him, Graham said.Washington State (5-2, 4-0 Pac-12) had more trouble with Arizona States defensive scheme in the first quarter, unable to get anything going as the Sun Devils dropped deep into coverage and forced Falk to throw underneath.Once Falk adjusted, he picked the Sun Devils (5-3, 2-3) apart, leading the Cougars to 28 straight points, a run triggered by Robert Taylors 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.Falk hit Tavares Martin on a 9-yard TD late in the second quarter and Jamal Morrow on a 3-yard score in the third. The junior also laid the ball in perfectly for Gabe Marks, who became Washington States all-time receptions leader, on a 52-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the Cougars up 37-21.Falk completed passes to 11 different receivers and connected on 42 of 53 overall to keep Washington State tied atop the Pac-12 North Division with No. 5 Washington after its fifth straight win.We started off slow. Thats on me, Falk said. Youve got to put the ball in play and give it to our playmakers, but ultimately we did a nice job of having a gutsy win and finishing the game.Arizona State was down to its fourth-string quarterback after Manny Wilkins was injured on the opening drive and had four other starters out. The Sun Devils still managed to lead by 11 early and clawed most of their way back from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.Tim White had a 70-yard touchdown on a punt return and Zane Gonzalez hit a 29-yard field goal to pull Arizona State within 37-32. But Falk and the Cougars ground down the games final 4:36.Wilkins ran for a 3-yard touchdown by hurdling a defender -- his third hurdle of the season -- before going out and freshman Sterling Dillon-Cole completed 7 of 16 passes for 86 yards in his place.Dillon did what he could do, he played with heart and all we had to do as an offense is keep him motivated and confident because you never know what can happen on the last series of the game, White said.INJURED SUN DEVILSArizona State was banged up heading into Saturday and it only got worse as the game wore on.The Sun Devils were missing two starters from their offense, Sam Jones and AJ McCollum, and safety Armand Perry was out with a turf toe injury.Wilkins did not play after the first series and linebacker Salamo Fiso, one of the keys to Arizona States defense, had to be helped off the field in the fourth quarter.THE TAKEAWAYWashington State: The Cougars have come a long way since their 0-2 start to the season, keeping themselves on course for a season-ending showdown against the rival Huskies that could decide the Pac-12 North.Arizona State: The Sun Devils struggles against the pass continue and their offense could be in more trouble if Wilkins continues to miss time. Arizona State has lost three of four.UP NEXTWashington State plays at Oregon State next Saturday.Arizona State plays at Oregon next Saturday. Jim Plunkett Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Randy Moss Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-nkeal-harry-jersey-large-71f.html . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. This story appears in ESPN The Magazines November 14 Pain Issue. Subscribe today!For all of the magic of baseball -- the Blue Jays soaring from a September crash all the way to the ALCS, the rags-to-riches-to-rags fate of the Giants, and, of course, the Indians and Cubs -- the biggest winner of October was an 82-year-old man solidly out of the public eye: former commissioner Bud Selig.Selig spent his career trying to make baseball more like football, by idolizing first former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelles ability to persuade warring owners to unite under the league flag and later the NFLs methodical destruction of the dynasties that made it famous. Big Money was still present in the postseason this year with the Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox all qualifying, but the past three World Series have featured the no-money Royals twice and the Indians. Through tireless engineering, the dynasty concept is on life support-just ask the Yankees, whose slight glimmer of life in the second half of this season couldnt overcome their recent futility. All in the name of parity.The money people who demanded socialism in sports through franchise tags, luxury taxes and salary caps have also rendered signature properties pedestrian. The 24-time champion Montreal Canadiens havent even appeared in the Stanley Cup finals since 1993. The Boston Celtics are just another team. People laugh at the San Francisco 49ers.All of which is why the impressive start of the Dallas Cowboys is the most unlikely underdog story of the season. For years, the Cowboys have been a punchline, falling somewhere between reality TV and the nighttime soap opera that once bore the citys name. Yet the NFL is a better product when the Cowboys are a good, thriving and-for much of the country-villainous presence. The metrics bear it out, in ratings and in online popularity.The last Cowboys resurgence, which began in the late 1980s, was good and villainous: Jerry Jones forced out Tex Schramm after, more ruthlessly, firing the great Tom Landry. The overhaul was so Texas-big ego, big talk, big money, big expectations and big results: three Super Bowl wins and an epic rivalry with the 49ers, each team stealing headlines, championships and players from the other.This edition of the Cowboys is actually, yes, endearing, and the elemments of a dangerous team are emerging. Terrell Owens Jersey. Rookie Dak Prescott makes headlines through the scandalous act of reading defenses correctly and avoiding the Category 4 storm that sits so heavy on the Doppler radar: the return of Tony Romo. The offensive line again plays with pride and snarl. Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott is a Texas cover band, his style an ode to Earl Campbell here, a nod to Emmitt Smith there and, when theres daylight in the secondary, a dash of Tony Dorsett. The barometer for the first half of this refreshing season has been wins and losses, not taking the over on Dez Bryant sideline tantrums. Dallas is looking like a team.A Cowboys return is the best thing for a league that is devoid of much franchise star power and that seems oddly happy about it. The NFL is more concerned about curbing the power of individual teams to ensure profits (what moves merchandise faster than sudden contention for a division championship?) than benefiting from the success of a signature team. The result is a leaguewide mediocrity. In 2014, the Panthers won the NFC South with a losing record. The malaise is real.The Cowboys wake up the public. Dallas last played in the Super Bowl in 1995 and hasnt reached the NFC title game since. From 1991 to 1996, the Cowboys won 10 or more games each season. In the 20 years since, they own just five 10-win seasons, but they still maintain the highest all-time winning percentage among active NFL franchises.The Seligs and Rozelles of the world cynically sought the mediocrity of parity-, following the notion that big-city teams would always steamroll the smaller ones. So now everyone gets a trophy, even though the dynasties built their leagues and their bank accounts.The game lives in the imagination, and instead of watching the fungible Jaguars and Texans, football has always been at its best when beating the signatures meant something, which once meant beating Dallas in the NFC East. Prescott, Elliott & Co. have taken the first steps on a mission of making Cowboys games worth circling again, of restoring the team to the dynasty its own league doesnt want. Now the trick is to play deep into January. ' ' '