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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Clemsons Dabo Swinney is sounding like someone whos getting comfortable under the brightest lights as well. Meyer has coached in four previous BCS games. Hes never lost. Swinney has taken his team to the BCS one other time, and lost by 37 points. Of course, come Friday night, none of that will matter. The seventh-ranked Buckeyes (12-1) and the 12th-ranked Tigers (10-2) will be squaring off in the Orange Bowl, where Meyer will aim to keep his BCS record perfect and Swinney will try to have his team, as he put it, "continue to climb the mountain." "When you have an opportunity to come to a BCS ball game and lose it, you want to get back and have another opportunity," Swinney said Thursday. "Theres only six teams, I think, in the country that have been in two BCS bowls the last three years, and were one of them. So its a great opportunity for us to have a chance to win one." Meyer would say the same thing. His team had visions of playing in Pasadena, Calif. for the BCS national championship next week, but the loss in the Big Ten title game -- the first under Meyer in 25 games since he took over in Columbus -- knocked the Buckeyes out of the title picture. So instead, Ohio State headed to South Florida, where Meyer will look to add the Orange Bowl to his BCS collection that already includes two title-game wins and a Sugar Bowl victory while at Florida, and a Fiesta Bowl triumph from when he coached Utah. "Its a chance to go compete," Meyer said. "Whether its checkers or ping pong, were going to try to win the game. Our job every time we keep score is to win. Its the mentality we try to create within our program. Whether its the Orange Bowl, whether its the eighth game of the season, were trying to win the game." Clemson lost the Orange Bowl two years ago to West Virginia, 70-33 -- the game turning when the Tigers fumbled the ball away in the second quarter, on a play where they would have taken the lead. Instead, the floodgates opened. The Tigers are 21-4 since. "This team has more than responded," Swinney said. ------ Heres five things to watch in the Orange Bowl: THE QB BATTLE: Tickets to the Orange Bowl arent inexpensive, but the shows that Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller can put on may make the admission price seem like a bargain. Boyd has accounted for 38 touchdowns this season; Miller has scored 32 with either his arm or his feet. Its Boyds finale; it may be Millers as well if he elects to go pro, as some expect he may. BUCKEYE D: If theres a weakness on a team thats 24-1 in the past two seasons, it may be Ohio States pass defence. Each of the Buckeyes last four opponents have completed at least 60 per cent of their passes, throwing for 1,363 yards in that stretch. And with that side of the ball dealing with some injury concerns for the Orange Bowl, its clearly to Clemsons advantage. RUN (AND) HYDE: Ohio State RB Carlos Hyde has 1,408 yards in 10 games this season, and says hed like to cap his college career by setting the Orange Bowl record for yards in a game. Hyde has averaged 7.7 yards per carry; Clemsons defence has yielded 3.7 per attempt. Hyde is the first running back to top 1,000 yards under Meyer, and is 116 yards away from fifth all-time on Ohio States list. WELCOME HOME: The Buckeyes and Tigers both recruit the Sunshine State heavily. Together, the teams have 13 players from the state, including six starters. Among the notables: Clemson WR Sammy Watkins (who may be playing his college finale), Clemson DB Jayron Kearse; Ohio State top tackler Ryan Shazier; Hyde, the Ohio State running back; and Ohio State DL Joey Bosa, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and the powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas program. KICKERS: If the game comes down to a kick, odds are that either Clemsons Chandler Catanzaro or Ohio States Drew Basil will deliver. Catanzaro has made all 56 of his extra-point tries and is 13 of 14 on field-goal attempts. Basil is 74 for 75 on extra-points and 9 for 10 on field goals. Clutchfit Drive 2 Red . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Ua Speedform Apollo Vent Mens . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. http://www.curryshoesuk.biz/stephen-curry-under-ar...shoes.h tml . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Stephen Curry 3 Shoes . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Under Armour Trainers Black . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks had a December to remember. Since the calendar flipped to 2014, its been a very unhappy new year. After compiling a 10-1-2 mark last month that put some distance between the teams chasing them in the Western Conference wildcard race, the Canucks have lost five in a row, including four straight to start January. The latest setback came Tuesday, when the Pittsburgh Penguins scored twice in the final 1:11 of regulation with their goalie pulled to tie the game before winning 5-4 in a shootout. All told, the Canucks have given up six goals in five games this season when opponents have their goalie on the bench for an extra attacker. "Late in games, I always talk about situational play," Canucks head coach John Tortorella said after Thursdays practice at Rogers Arena. "Situational play is a mindset and we have not totally grasped that. Thats a mental toughness, to me. I believe you can develop that type of mental toughness -- to play in the (hard) areas at certain times, at certain (moments) of games. "I think at times weve done it this year, and obviously of late here, we havent." Tortorella said the only way to deal with blown leads is to get back on the horse. "You hope youre leading again 3-2 in the third period ... and you find a way to get it done," he said. "You need to grasp something." Tortorella said that for him, the most fascinating part of coaching is the mind, adding that its his job to make sure players learn how to be tough mentally game in and game out. "I tell the players theyre screwed -- if I see it once, I know its there," said Tortorella. "When you show signs you can do it, then you need to demand yourself to do it more consistently. Thats a big part of our responsibility. Ive seen us play stiff enough to handle situations. "When youre developing an identity of a hockey club, it falls on the coach to demand it and keep it there. Im in it with them as far this little slump here." Vancouvers current losing streak includes road defeats to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Thhe Canucks currently sit in the first wildcard position, but they host the powerhouse St.ddddddddddddLouis Blues on Friday before travelling back to Los Angeles and Anaheim as part of a three-game roadtrip. "The schedules not getting any easier," said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa. "Weve got a lot teams that are ahead of us in the standings that were playing. These are the teams we have to beat if we want to catch them." Bieksa said the players arent dwelling on the late-game collapses, but are instead trying to learn from the mistakes. "Sometimes maybe we clench up a bit towards the end of the game with the lead because weve lost it so many times and its in the back of guys head," he said. "You still have to go out there and make a play. Its not just going back and just hammering pucks around the boards and shooting it out and then they come right back on you. "Somebodys got to make a play. Somebodys got to make a tape-to-tape pass. Somebodys got to hold onto a puck down low and kill some time. Someones got to beat a guy and get a shot on net. Its just a mindset of continuing to play the same way." Apart from blowing leads, the Canucks have also had a miserable time in the shootout this season. Vancouver has a meagre 2-6 record and is a combined 4-for-32 on shootout attempts. Tortorella had the Canucks practice the shootout for nearly 15 minutes at the end of practice on Thursday, with fourth-liner Zac Dalpe and defenceman Jason Garrison finding a measure of success. Tortorella downplayed the exercise, saying its impossible to mimic game shootout conditions in practice, before sharing what he thought of NHL games being decided by a skills competition. "It should be out of the league," he said. "That gimmick should be out of the league." Note: Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows and defenceman Alexander Edler were both full participants at Thursdays practice, but Tortorella said neither has been cleared to play. Burrows has been out with a broken jaw, while Edler has been sidelined by a knee injury. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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