Cuts » Carmelo. As the face of the Knicks, An

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Miami went to Duke last year with its season on the absolute brink, a lineup besieged by injuries and what would have been considered at best a minimal chance of winning.A miracle kickoff return at the end lifted the Hurricanes that night.The teams meet again Saturday, and now its Duke in need of a surprise.Needing a win to have any chance of reaching a bowl game, Duke (4-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) visits Miami (7-4, 4-3) in the regular-season finale for both teams. Ordinarily it takes six wins for a team to get a bowl invitation, though 5-7 will likely be enough for a few lucky programs this year -- and Duke, because of its Academic Progress Rate score, would be the first team from the sub-.500 group in line for an invite.Theyre well aware of what could or could not happen, said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, whose team comes into this matchup as a two-touchdown underdog. But the bottom line is were going with the mentality of trying to win. ... If were fortunate enough to win, we will worry about that business after the fact.Miami looks like its rolling again in this up-and-down season -- one where the Hurricanes started 4-0, then went 0-4, and are 3-0 since. But even a struggling Duke team has the Hurricanes attention, and coach Mark Richt said thats with good reason.Well, all I know is they beat two teams we couldnt beat, Richt said. They played Notre Dame and beat them; we didnt do that. They played North Carolina and beat them; we didnt do that. So, theyve got my respect, I can tell you that.Richt wasnt there for the eight-lateral kickoff return touchdown that lifted Miami over Duke in that hotly debated finish last season, giving the Hurricanes a 30-27 win in a game where the team was dealing with the firing of coach Al Golden (the fallout from a 58-0 loss to Clemson the week before) and the death of star defensive back Artie Burns mother. As if that wasnt enough, quarterback Brad Kaaya stayed home that week because of a concussion.Cutcliffe, of course, was there -- and hes insisting he and his team havent thought about that final play.Last years game will have no bearing, Cutcliffe said.---Heres some of the storylines going into Saturday:CHASING RECORDS: Brad Kaaya comes into this week 275 yards away from matching Ken Dorseys Miami school record of 9,565 career passing yards. Kaaya is also 146 yards shy of becoming the first Miami quarterback to have three different 3,000-yard seasons, and is 29 completions away from matching Jacory Harris school record of 703 in his career.RESIDUAL EFFECT: When Miami went to Duke last season, the Blue Devils were 6-1 and ranked in the AP Top 25. Maybe its just a coincidence, but that kickoff return by Corn Elder (and some of his friends) seems to have sparked quite a downturn. Duke is 6-11 and hasnt spent any time in the national rankings since.SENIOR DAY PART 3: Miami is already 2-0 on Senior Days this season, having prevailed at Virginia and N.C. State in the contests where those teams honored their departing upperclassmen before final home games. The Hurricanes will fete their 18 seniors on Saturday.COMING CLOSE: Yes, Duke will finish this season with a losing record and were routed by Pitt last weekend 56-14. But a play here or there could have made 2016 look very different for the Blue Devils. In four of their losses this season, they had the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.THE END?: Bob Harris will call his 471st consecutive -- and possibly last -- Duke football game. Harris has been the voice of Duke football and mens basketball for 41 seasons, and is retiring when basketball season ends. He worked with nine Duke football coaches and will retire as the ACCs longest-tenured play-by-play announcer.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org John Henson Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. http://www.cheapbucksjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-eric-bledsoe-jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Cheap Bucks Jerseys . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Jabari Parker Jersey .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. If he could speak right now, 11-year-old Anthony Skipper might tell you about the birthday party La La Anthony and her husband,?New York Knicks?star?Carmelo Anthony, threw for him last year. Maybe hed talk about the presents that the Anthonys gave to Skipper and his siblings for Christmas.Unfortunately, due to a brain injury that has left Skipper without speech, he cant. But the affection he feels toward La La and Carmelo still shines through.His mother, Tyrell Young, sees it each time her son hears La Las voice on the phone. Often, Carmelos on the call in the background.He looks around, and hes trying to find and pinpoint the phone and where the voice is coming from, Young says. His eyes definitely light up. Sometimes his heart rate goes up a little bit. You can tell hes very excited to see them and hear their voice. He perks up.Those signs of emotion and awareness are precious for Skipper and his family.Fifteen months ago, Skipper was taking a bath at his home in Sunrise, Florida, when he suffered a seizure. He nearly drowned, and his brain was without oxygen for 15 minutes, suffering what doctors call cerebral hypoxia: brain damage due to lack of oxygen.In the painstaking weeks after the incident, Young documented her sons recovery and rehabilitation on Instagram.God forbid if this happens to someone else, she thought. One day we can be of help to other families.Intending to help others, Youngs pursuits ended up connecting her to the kind of help that may save her sons life.As she continued to update her social feed with her sons progress, someone began tagging La La, who was immediately drawn to the familys story. She reached out to Young and donated money, but she wanted to do more.La La soon learned that Young was near one of the top hospitals in the area but was in the wrong spot on a long waiting list to make an appointment. So La La got on the phone, and thanks to some help from friend and former Miami Heat star?Dwyane Wade, currently a member of the?Chicago Bulls, and the Heat organization, she secured a spot at the Nicklaus Childrens Hospital in Miami.She also found out that transportation was a challenge for Young, so La La reached out to Kia, with the help of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, to secure a vehicle that was handicap accessible.Months later, Young remains blown away by the gestures.I strongly feel like if it wasnt for [La La] and Carmelo being so involved on a personal level, things would be different, she says.The relationship eventually grew beyond pphone calls and favors.dddddddddddd La La and Carmelo visited the hospital during a recent surgery; they traveled to Miami with their son Kiyan to celebrate Skippers birthday. And La La and Carmelo provided Christmas presents for Skipper and his siblings over the holidays.In our house, we call them our guardian angels. Young says.Once in a while, Young will wake up in the middle of the night, check her phone and find a message from La La. Its medical advice.Sometimes its about something that Carmelo heard about from one of his team doctors, Young says, or its something that she was up researching.Im just so grateful that God sent them into our lives, she adds.That feeling goes both ways. La La says her relationship with Skipper and his family helps to put everyday frustrations in perspective.Hes changed my life, La La says.That may sound like hyperbole, but consider that La La calls Young daily to check in -- Damn near four times a day, Carmelo adds with a laugh. La La has flown to Miami to visit with Skipper and his mother five times in the past year.Hes amazing. He motivates me, La La says.Skipper has had a similar effect on Carmelo. As the face of the Knicks, Anthony has had to deal with one off-court drama after another. All of it can get frustrating, to be sure. But Carmelo said recently that he and his wifes relationship with Superman Anthony helps keep things in perspective.It makes me at peace, and it actually helps me playing basketball to be honest with you, he says. It puts everything in perspective, because Im a part of a situation where nothing is promised.Nothing is promised with Skipper, but he has shown signs of significant improvement.Initially, Young was told her son would be in a semi-vegetative state for the rest of his life and that hed need a respirator to breathe. Skipper has since weaned off the ventilator for half of the day; doctors are pleased with his progress. With time and therapy we pray hell be speaking one day, Young says.On some afternoons, Skipper gets a visit from a physical therapist. Sometimes a respiratory aide stops by to make sure his lungs are clear. Those are the good days. Theyre even better, of course, when he can hear those two familiar voices on the phone.You can always tell when he hears [La La and Carmelo]. Its amazing, Young says. And honestly, without them being involved, he may not have gotten this far. ' ' '