CINCINNATI -- Last season, the Xavier Musketeers were a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and had some pundits listing them among the Final Four favorites.That was March. National recognition in November is something new on Victory Parkway.Xavier, which opens the regular season against Lehigh on Friday (7 p.m.) at Cintas Center, is ranked No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the highest preseason rating in school history.The Musketeers highest previous ranking in the preseason was 10th in 1997-98 and 2002-03. However, coach Chris Mack said he is not concerned about his players absorbing that praise.I dont worry about the attention, Mack said. It helps that people talk about you. It helps in recruiting. I know fans get excited. But, its really about what we do between the lines. I do think we have some older players that are used to having a businesslike attitude.It helps to have the top two scorers returning, junior guard Trevon Bluiett (15.1 points per game) and sophomore guard Edmond Sumner (11.0 ppg).Bluiett lost around 20 pounds during the summer to become quicker and more athletic to the rim.Sumner missed three games last season with a head injury but still compiled 112 assists. He is poised for a huge year, one that could propel him up the NBA Draft ladder.Both Bluiett and Sumner were named preseason first-team All-Big East Conference. Junior guard J.P. Macura, the Big Easts sixth man of the year last season, also returns.The Musketeers will be without a couple of key contributors on Friday. Sophomore forward Kaiser Gates is out with a knee injury, and senior guard Myles Davis is suspended due to allegations in an ongoing domestic-violence case.Xavier, which was ranked ninth in the final AP poll last year, is picked to finish second in the Big East behind defending national champion Villanova. Still, the Musketeers arent thinking too highly of themselves.We dont really focus too much on preseason rankings, Macura said. Last year we werent ranked (in the preseason) and we had a great season. We just have to take every day, practice with energy, and everything else will take care of itself.The Friday game is Xaviers first since losing to Wisconsin on a buzzer-beater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a defeat that took months for the Musketeers to move past.Xavier wont look past Lehigh on Friday, though. As Sumner said earlier this week, the Mountain Hawks are not a slouch.Xavier is 2-0 all-time against Lehigh, including a narrow 69-63 win in 2004. This season, the Hawks are a near-unanimous favorite to win the Patriot League title, receiving all but three first-place votes. Senior forward Tim Kempton, a two-time Patriot League player of the year, is picked to win it for a third time. Junior guard Kahron Ross is a first-team all-league selection.Lehigh returns its top four scorers from last years squad that won 11 consecutive games before losing a heartbreaker in the Patriot League championship game.I think this team learned a lot from going through the journey last season, said coach Brett Reed, who is in his 10th season as Lehighs head coach. They are hungry for a new opportunity. However, they will need to take the lessons learned and apply them this upcoming year if were going to be even stronger, which will be needed to win a championship. Cheap Vikings Jerseys Authentic .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Wholesale Vikings JerseysA . 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. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseysauthentic.com/ . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Baltimore Ravens wide receiver?Steve Smith Sr.?became the 14th player in NFL history to reach 1,000 catches.Smith reached the milestone by catching the first pass of the second half in Sundays 27-17 loss to Dallas. It was fitting for Smith to achieve this mark by catching a 22-yard completion over the middle, where the tough receiver has made so many of his receptions.Smith had a good start to his momentous game, catching Ravens quarterback?Joe Flaccos first pass of the game before making an incredible reception in the second quarter. He somehow got both feet inbounds for a 13-yard catch, which was upheld by replay review.The 13 players who have reached 1,000 receptions before Smith are: Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne, Jason Witten, Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Isaac Bruce and Hines Ward.During spring minicamp, Smith had said that reaching this milestone was one of his primary motivations to return frrom last years season-ending Achilles injury and delay retirement for another season.dddddddddddd Smith, the NFLs oldest receiver at 37, jokingly said he would leave the field and drive home to Charlotte, North Carolina, immediately after making that historic reception.Of the 13 other players who have made 1,000 catches, six have been eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Four -- Rice, Carter, Brown and Harrison -- have been inducted. Only two -- Owens and Bruce -- are waiting to get in.Several of the Ravens showed reverence toward Smith leading up to this game.Everybody should look at him, and I dont know if they should be jealous or what, but they should definitely take notice of how special of a person theyre watching, Flacco said Wednesday. I think hes going to be a guy that we remember for a while. Im definitely a very proud person to say that I can play with him. ' ' '