Lancashire 276 and 128 for 0 (Smith 66*, Hameed 58*) trail Nottinghamshire 476 (Patel 67, Wessels 62, Libby 54) by 70 runsScorecard A persistent breeze stiffened enough from time to time to ask less hardy spectators to consider putting on a jacket but at least it was a day that looked like summer. On the field, Stuart Broad worked up a sweat, eager to show his county the commitment that comes naturally to him in Test cricket. But an increasingly benign pitch was giving him very little back.Steven Mullaney, captain against his former county in the absence of Chris Read, was proactive, rotating the bowlers, frequently tweaking his fields, trying to make something happen. Broad ran willingly to where he was directed, chipping in too with suggestions on tactics to try. Deep into the last session, though, Lancashires openers had their sights on batting through to the close, determined that their concentration would not crack.They look like a side who believe in themselves. Promoted teams tend these days to find the step up a difficult one but Lancashire have established themselves among the front-runners. It would be a surprise if they are in first place at the end of the season but their players are not easily cowed.Tom Smith, a solid professional in the best traditions of county cricket, turned 30 now and with the wisdom and experience to go with it, locked horns again with Imran Tahir, as he had in the first innings. After a protracted battle, the legspinner had the last word then but this time Smith, so far, has the upper hand.At the other end, moreover, he had an ally who already looks equally at home playing the long game. Haseeb Hameed is not yet 20 in years but temperamentally seems much older, at least with bat in hand. The pair have been Lancashires best opening partnership so far this year, the first to put 100 or more on the board.In doing so, they have probably saved this game for Lancashire, who trailed by 198 on first innings, a scenario that looked unlikely after Nottinghamshire had lost half their wickets while still 35 runs behind.Steven Croft, as willing and versatile as he is, is not a wicketkeeper and it is a demanding position from which also to captain a side. Whether he could have done much differently, though, is a moot point, given that of all the things Mullaney tried later, none achieved a breakthrough.It has been a different match for Neil Wagner, who took 11 wickets when Lancashire beat Nottinghamshire handsomely at Old Trafford in May. His reward for 33.1 overs of toil this time was 3-107.It was hard out there, on an unresponsive and flat wicket, he said. I thought we bowled well, we asked questions and we bowled better than we did yesterday, when we did not hit our lengths consistently and got hurt.We thought if we could get a couple of quick wickets this morning we might be in with a shout but credit to Nottinghamshire they batted very well. Riki and Samit batted really well, as did Broady and the others who came in after. They never really gave us a chance.But it was a great partnership between Haseeb and Tom and although there is a lot of work to do yet hopefully we are in a good position now to save the game.Patel and Wessels could not be parted for more than an hour, adding 43 to an overnight lead of 27 before Patel, who had been watchful for the most part, feathered the thinnest of edges to Croft off Smith, who dismissed Wessels soon afterwards. Looking to accelerate the pursuit of bowling points, Wessels went after Smith and picked up his ninth boundary but was undone by the next delivery, which pushed him on to the back foot and took the edge, Liam Livingstone backpeddling from slip to take the catch.Wessels had to leave the field with a finger injury later in the day, handing the wicketkeeping gloves to Brendan Taylor for a period, but was able to resume after treatment.The end of one significant partnership, one that was worth 105 runs, merely introduced another. Broad, who has given good value to his county with the bat as well as the ball this season, combined with Brett Hutton to add another 79 for the eighth wicket, 31 of which came within the space of 18 deliveries, 24 from Broads bat, to clinch maximum batting points for Nottinghamshire with just one ball to spare.In an innings notable for unconverted starts - nine players made between 30 and 67 - neither Broad nor Hutton reached 50 but the lead kept stretching. Even Harry Gurney, a genuine number 11, made it into double figures, for only the eighth time in 95 first-class innings.The win that Nottinghamshire need rather more urgently than their opponents seems unlikely, however, unless Tahir can do something remarkable on the final day. Authentic Custom Bucks Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Wholesale Custom Bucks Shirts . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. http://www.custombucksjersey.com/ . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Custom Oscar Robertson Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Custom Bucks T-shirts . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. STILLWATER, Okla. -- The players at No. 13 Oklahoma State know one thing: They dont have to look for help to wrap up a special season.After escaping with a 45-44 victory over Texas Tech over the weekend, the Cowboys needs to win Saturday at TCU to set up a Bedlam showdown with No. 8 Oklahoma on Dec. 3 for the Big 12 championship.The Cowboys (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) know that they need to focus on the next game and not look ahead to the looming contest with their intra-state rivals, especially on the road against a strong opponent in TCU (5-4, 3-3). The Horned Frogs are coming off a bye week that followed a dominating 62-22 win on Nov. 5 over then-No. 17 Baylor, the only Big 12 team that has beaten Oklahoma State (35-24 back on Sept. 24).Each week I talk to them about the importance of focus, and fortunately, weve had big wins, and whether you have a big win or you have a loss youre not happy with, you have to re-focus on Sunday, said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. Were not good enough to even look past tomorrows practice, and TCU, in my opinion, is a considerably different team than they were even three weeks ago.The players appear to be buying into the notion that they cannot look past TCU.It is hard, but right now, we just focus on TCU and well be ready for Bedlam next week, said defensive tackle Vincent Taylor, who is tied for sixth in the Big 12 in both sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (9.0). Dont watch ESPN, the AP polls, the college polls and all that, stay off of Twitter. Its hard, but to be focused, thats what you have to do.With the Sooners ranked eighth, West Virginia No. 10 and the Cowboys at No. 13, there is a lot of speculation thaat no matter who emerges as the Big 12 champion, they will be shut out of the College Football Playoff.dddddddddddd.I cant control that, said junior quarterback Mason Rudolph, who ranks fifth in the nation with 3,384 passing yards and is 12th with 24 touchdown tosses. We control our own destiny and regardless of our ranking, we know whats at stake and what we can accomplish, so were really trying to block that out and look forward.Gundy actually considers his team 9-1, discounting the Cowboys controversial 30-27 defeat to Central Michigan back on Sept. 10, when the Chippewas scored a touchdown on a Hail Mary pass during a final, untimed play that officials later admitted should never have been awarded.Nobody will ever convince me we lost that game, Gundy said.Gundy still has faith that the committee would alter its perception of the result based on how the game ended, but also acknowledged he doesnt have the stomach to engage in the type of politicking that might be necessary to get his team into the playoff if it should win the next two games.When you get into administrative politics, Id just as soon jump off a building than deal with people like that, Gundy said. I havent thought about it a lot because we have to play these next two games. And at that point, somebody can make a decision on that. Theyre supposed to be deciding on who they think the best teams are -- thats what they say, right? I mean, I never watch the show. Id rather watch `SpongeBob than watch or listen to his comments, to be honest with you. ' ' '