Dein erstes Forum » n do that.A challenging year for the

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Clemsons offense clicked with enough precision to build a huge lead. The defense got back on track after a rather leaky loss.The No. 4 Tigers sure seem like theyre back to playing like the Atlantic Coast Conferences top national title contender.Just in time for the playoff push to really get serious.Clemson (10-1, 7-1) wrapped up its conference schedule by claiming the Atlantic Division title and the spot in the ACC title game that comes with it, beating Wake Forest 35-13 after scoring touchdowns the first four times it touched the ball.A very, very good, complete football game, coach Dabo Swinney said.They celebrated with a trophy in the locker room after the game -- hoping it was the first in a series of such celebrations over the coming weeks that they can repeat.They face South Carolina in what they call their state championship next week, then will play either Virginia Tech or North Carolina on Dec. 3 in the ACC title game. Clemson won both of those games last year on its way to the College Football Playoff.Its hard to be the champs, quarterback Deshaun Watson said. Its hard to constantly be winning, go back to back. Were going to celebrate it (Saturday night and Sunday) and then move on from it and get ready for the state championship.The victory over Wake Forest started out with precisely the kind of performance expected of a team coming off an appearance in the national championship game and featuring a Heisman Trophy finalist. It came two nights after division rival Louisville and Heisman contender Lamar Jackson effectively played themselves out of the playoff picture with that blowout loss at Houston.Clemson has spent all year in the top five, but it hasnt always been a smooth ride , with five wins decided by a touchdown or less.The Tigers won a thriller at home against Louisville , then sidestepped an upset bid by North Carolina State -- which shanked a chip shot field goal on the final play of regulation -- and won in overtime, before claiming a dramatic victory over Florida State .It caught up with the Tigers last week when they allowed 464 total yards -- and a season-worst 308 through the air -- to Pittsburgh, which won on a field goal in the final seconds.Neither the voters nor the selection committee punished them too harshly, though, keeping them in the top five of the polls and in the top four in the playoff rankings. But for a week there was a lingering dilemma about whether Louisville deserved to jump them.Nobodys having that conversation anymore, not after Louisvilles loss. And not after Clemson got back to basics during the week and then took out any lingering frustrations on the Demon Deacons in the games first 15-plus minutes. The defense, gashed by Pitt the previous week, held Wake Forest to 197 total yards.Thats what we wanted to do was start fast and make sure we caught Wake Forest just a little bit, push them back and put the pressure on them, Watson said. And we just handled our business.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Mikko Koivu Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Greg Pateryn Wild Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.authenticwildpro.com/Mikko-koivu-wild-jersey/ . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Jonas Brodin Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Greg Pateryn Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The trip wasnt always easy, though they arrived at their expected destination.The players on the U.S. Olympic mens basketball team never doubted they would be standing on the gold-medal platform, even after some close calls in Rio and criticisms they lacked the usual big names and bigger wins.I know there was kind of a lot of buzz around us not playing well a couple of games, two, three games in the early round, Carmelo Anthony said, but the way that we locked in and the way that we focused in to be able to have this gold medal around our necks was special.Saving their best for last in a tournament that had been tough, the Americans convincingly won their third straight gold medal, beating Serbia 96-66 on Sunday.We came here and despite what people are saying about this group, being less talented and not blowing teams out, we did a good job of bottling all that up and unleashed it on Serbia, forward Paul George said.Kevin Durant scored 30 points in the final game with the national team for Mike Krzyzewski, who took the Americans back to the top and leaves with them there after becoming the first coach to win three Olympic gold medals.To go home as gold medalists and leave Coach K off with another gold was one of our main goals as well, Durant said.Anthony also picked up his third gold to go with a bronze, becoming the most decorated male in Olympic basketball history.The U.S. beat Serbia by just 94-91 in pool play, holding on when Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. This rematch looked nothing like that meeting, but it did resemble the final of the 2014 Basketball World Cup, which the Americans won 129-92.To come out there and play as well as we did against a team that had stepped up their play as well, it showed that we came together at the right time, Durant said.Anthony checked back into the rout in the final minutes so he could grab a seventh rebound, passing David Robinson for U.S. record with the 125th in his Olympic career. He had already become the leading scorer earlier in the tournament, capping an Olympic career that began with disappointment as a member of the U.S. team that finished third in 2004.The Americans havent lost since, winning 25 straight in the Olympics.A few of the victories were more difficult than usual in this tournament, where half the Americans eight games were decided by 10 points or fewer.Krzyzewski said it didnt matter hhow the Americans won, that there would be no questions as long as they did.ddddddddddddAnd there was no doubt they would Sunday once Durant heated up.He had also scored 30 in the 2012 gold-medal game, after he poured in a U.S.-record 38 in one game en route to the MVP of the 2010 world basketball championship. He is already the Americans No. 2 career scorer in the Olympics in just two appearances.When the final horn sounded, the U.S. players shared long hugs with each other and then Krzyzewski.It was a tough ending after an impressive run for Serbia in its first Olympics as an independent nation. The heart of an international power in the former Yugoslavia, the Serbs hadnt qualified for the Olympics since gaining their independence in 2006.They dropped three games in the group stage but had the look of a team that could challenge the Americans after nearly knocking them off earlier in the tournament and overwhelming Australia in the semifinals.They were down just 16-15 before Durant made a 3-pointer for the final points of the first quarter, and before they knew it he had turned the game into a blowout.They are superstars. If you let them play like they want, they will kill you, guard Stefan Markovic said. Each of their 12 guys can do that.A challenging year for the Americans started long before they boarded the cruise ship they stayed on while in Rio. For the first time since 2004, many top American players opted to skip the Olympics, forcing them to bring some here who wouldnt have been considered otherwise.The 10 Olympic newcomers seemed to be jelling slowly and the U.S. had a pair of three-point victories and came in winning by just 21.4 points per game, more than 10 per game fewer than four years ago and about half the 43.8 the Dream Team won by in 1992.This team kept getting better and even those three games in pool play, we had not played that type of game against that type of level of opponent, Krzyzewski said. We said it was a learning experience and our guys did learn and we put it to good practice.Krzyzewski, an assistant on the Dream Team, has long insisted that international basketball has gotten too strong for anyone to win that easily again.Yet on Sunday, the Americans did.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '