Aktuelles » ad sore legs and was a little tired, but I

LOS ANGELES -- Cmon, Clay Helton. You know you want to. Heres your chance. Heres your chance to tell all the college football experts to go do something anatomically impossible.All he does is give a hearty laugh.Not my style, Helton said. Not my style.Helton is the former soon-to-be-former USC coach. He spent the first month of his first head coaching season hearing why he shouldnt get a second. Now Helton is the middle of his third month, and his No. 13 Trojans are 7-3 with a six-game winning streak as they prepare to finish their Pac-12 schedule at UCLA (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). USC is a half-game behind No. 10 Colorado, and a half-game ahead of Utah, in the Pac-12 South.The Trojans actually can win the division. If they beat the Bruins (4-6, 2-5), and if No. 22 Washington State wins at Colorado, and the Buffs go on to beat No. 12 Utah next week, then the courtly Helton would have every right to say something that is not his style.Google Clay Helton and you dont have to scroll down very far. The fifth story is, Clay Helton Must Be Fired and USC Needs to Find a Real Head Coach. The seventh and ninth stories provide five names as possible replacements. Those three stories were published in late September, when USC had a record of 1-3.The ready-fire-aim section of my business did itself proud. Yeah, the Trojans got humiliated by Alabama in the opener, 52-6. It turned out that USC, in its first game, literally was not ready for the big time. The atmosphere in Cowboys Stadium, not to mention the Crimson Tide themselves, overwhelmed the Trojans.Yep, they followed with an equally inept offensive performance at Stanford two weeks later in a 27-10 loss. After that game, Helton benched fourth-year junior quarterback Max Browne for redshirt freshman Sam Darnold.He played well in his first start, at Utah, but the Trojans lost fumbles on their first three offensive possessions, and then gave up a touchdown with :16 to play to lose 31-27. All they had to show for the first month of the season was a victory over Utah State and a rabble that had been roused.Gah, Helton said, that feels like years ago.His family rallied around him. In the days after the Utah game, his daughter Aubrey, a high school senior, came up to him, gave him a big hug, and said, Daddy, dont worry about it. Its all going to be good.Not even Aubrey knew how good. But her daddy had an inkling. As the carping about Helton being overmatched reached a crescendo, he came away from the Utah loss convinced that the Trojans would be fine. He wont tell you six-wins-in-a-row, 13th-ranked, division-contender fine. But fine. This wasnt a team pointing fingers across the locker room.There were guys coming up on their own to watch extra film in our meeting rooms and taking it upon themselves to bring their teammates with them, Helton said. Thats what hurt, losing that game, because I saw what each kid was trying to do to help this team win.Helton seized on that kernel of determination and, as the geniuses speculated on his successor -- four games into his career -- he let his team know that he paid it no mind.I kept telling myself, Remember, 18- to 21-year-olds look to their leader and look to their coaching staff, Helton said. How we react, theyre going to react. Just stay poised. Dont panic. Stay consistent in what youre doing and what you believe in and live with the results.Six starts later, Darnold is the best first-year quarterback in the FBS. Dont ask me, Jalen Hurts fans. Ask Darnolds QBR (86.8), fifth in the nation. Darnold has been so effective as a passer he has reopened the running lanes for backs Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis.That is as good a decision as any to probe whether Helton could coach his way out of a paper bag. With 20/20 hindsight, it seems perfectly obvious that Darnold is the better quarterback. But Helton remains steadfast that the full-speed decision he made to start Browne in the first three games is one he would make again.I had seen a kid, Max Browne, whos a redshirt junior, that had been in college football games, was efficient, had been a team captain, very respected by our team as a leader, Helton said. And I saw Sam, just this ultra-talented thing, just brilliance. But had never seen him in a ballgame, a real live college game.Browne didnt make mistakes, but he didnt make magic, either. Darnold proved he could handle major college football. Boy, could he. Should you blame Helton for not getting Darnold ready for the opener? You should, as long as you ignore that the offense had a new coordinator, the defense had a new coordinator, and so did the special teams. That contributed to the slow start as well.Look at the way the defense has improved over the course of the season: five sacks in the first four games, 14 in the next six. The Trojans have allowed an average of 18 points per game during their six-game winning streak.USC is coming off a 26-13 victory at No. 4 Washington, a vivid illustration of how far the Trojans have progressed since that loss to Alabama. Here was another fast, talented team. Here was a game in Husky Stadium, one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college football. USC didnt wilt this time.As I look back on our entire season, it really culminated in last week, Helton said. ...I just saw unbelievable poise and maturity. It was as electric an atmosphere as you could possibly have. It was as good a scene for college football as you could see, and the moment wasnt too big for them. They really walked in there with a sense of maturity and confidence. Hey, lets just focus on our job. Lets dont care about the stadium. Lets dont care about the noise. Lets dont care about the weather. Lets just get our job done.They have two rivalry games remaining -- Notre Dame comes west next week -- and Helton said he has seen no heads swelled by the win at Washington. Coach Overmatched could end up with a 10-win season. And a Pac-12 title. The guy that the internet fired seven weeks ago may end up in the Rose Bowl.Heltons unfailingly polite, unerringly even-keeled, unbelievably unexciting personality ended up being just the right touch for a young team. So, cmon, Coach. Let it go. Tell the experts off.You have to be very strong-willed, Helton said. You have to have thick skin. And dont get your feelings hurt. Believe in what youre doing. Believe in the things youre doing for kids.Oh, well. They got off lucky. Jimmie Ward Super Bowl Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Deion Sanders Super Bowl Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. http://www.49ersofficialfanshop.com/dee-ford-jersey.html . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. KWaun Williams Super Bowl Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Laken Tomlinson Super Bowl Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique.MONTREAL -- Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil are headed to a semifinal showdown at the Rogers Cup. Canadas top two mens singles players won their quarter-final matches Friday at the US$3.49-million tournament, continuing a rare run of success for homegrown players at the countrys biggest tennis event. They will face each other Saturday with a berth in Sundays final on the line. Pospisil became the first Canadian since Mike Belkin in 1969 to reach the final four of the event when his opponent Nikolay Davydenko retired due to illness. The Vernon, B.C., native led 3-0 in the first set. Raonic, the 11th seed, rode the spirited support of the centre court crowd for a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who had taken out second-seeded Andy Murray on Thursday. It will be the first meeting between Raonic and Pospisil in an ATP Tour tournament. Pospisil holds a 3-1 edge in their four meetings in lower level events, but Raonic took the most recent match in 2010. They first played each other in an under-14 tournament in Edmonton. "Exciting match," said Pospisil. "Two Canadians in the semifinal, one guaranteed to be in the final. Its a historic moment for tennis in Canada. "We obviously know each other very well. Since we were little kids. Youve got to give the edge to Milos, for sure. I have the edge in terms of head-to-head (matchups), but things have changed in the last two years. My run here doesnt change anything here in terms of that. But well see how it goes." Raonic disagreed. "I dont think that matters -- we both start at 0-0 when the match comes," he said. "I think it means a lot, not just to us, but to Canadian tennis. "Its an opportunity, a great, great moment. At the same time, its another tennis match. That doesnt change." Top seed and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia met little resistance in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Richard Gasquet, stretching his Rogers Cup winning streak to 13. Djokovic will face fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal beat Australias Marinko Matosevic 6-2, 6-4 to advance. It is the first time in the Open Era that two Canadiens have met the semifinals. The last time a Canadian was in the final was 1958, when Robert Bedard won the last of his three titles. "Fantastic news for Canadian tennis at the .rogerscup as (at)MilosRaonic and (at)VasekPospisil have reached the semis. Lets bring the cup home," tweeted Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In the past two years, the hard-serving, 22-year-old Raonic has risen to No. 13 in the world rankings, a record for a Canadian. He may jump a few more places when the next rankings come out Monday. He had on-court treatment in his third round win over Juan Martin De Potro for an inflamed neck muscle that led to his right arm numb, but said the arm was fine against fellow big-server Gulbis. The keey was at 4-4 in the third set when he fought off a break point to win.dddddddddddd "I was expecting it to be very difficult," Raonic said. "He had a great win yesterday. "Hes especially dangerous when he gets matches under him and hes feeling well. He wasnt really making many errors." The 23-year-old Pospisil has taken a slower path than Raonic, but is on a roll of late. He won a Challenger series tournament last week in Vancouver, then kept it going with wins over John Isner, Radek Stepanek, fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych and Davydenko, a former world No. 3 who is now ranked 47th. The run included his first win over a player ranked in the top 20 in Isner and his first over a top-10 player in Berdych. Not bad for someone who needed a wild-card entry to get into the tournament because he wasnt ranked high enough for direct entry. He is already assured of winning $128,960 and gaining at least 360 points, which will take him from 71st in the world into the top 50. One benefit is that he already has an exemption into the main draw of a tournament in Cincinnati next week. "The moneys nice, but its not about that," said Pospisil. "I set goals for myself. "Im thinking bigger picture. This is a huge week for me points-wise. Im going to make a really big jump regardless of how the match goes (Saturday). Im excited and Ill try to use the confidence I have and keep playing well." The 20-minute match against Davydenko was ideal for Pospisil, who didnt get a lot of sleep while getting from Vancouver to Montreal and then had to grind through some tough matches. Heading into the quarter-finals, he had played the longest match of the week against Berdych and the third-longest against Isner. "It came at a perfect time to have a bit of rest," said Pospisil. "Even those three games (against Davydenko) I was trying to catch my breath. "I had sore legs and was a little tired, but I was hitting the ball well. Ill try to rest up." After the match, Davydenko said he has been battling bronchitis since Monday. With Pospisil playing well and battling hard for every point, he felt he didnt have the energy to continue. "I just want to see how he will play," the 32-year-old said. "But the second game was very tough for me. He played long rallies and I could not hold this level." He was not sure if he will be fit enough to play in Cincinnati, but expects to be ready for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 26 in New York. Gulbis called it a successful tournament despite the loss as he faced seeded players three days in a row. "Game-wise, I dont think it was the best match because neither of us gave the other any rhythm," he said. "Hes serving big, Im serving big. "At 4-4, break point, if I start to make those passing shots Ill start to win against these guys." ' ' '