te asked the guards to join her.We break up -- bigs over there, guards over here, White said. When she comes with me, Im like, What in the world?But right away, shes doing ballhandling drills, hitting pull-up jumpers. Then she started knocking down 3s, left and right, and I knew

With all due respect to Ronald Reagans George Gipp on his deathbed, Denzel Washingtons Herman Boone at Gettysburg or even Robert Loggias halftime talk with the Texas State Armadillos, Hollywoods greatest football speech was Al Pacinos in Any Given Sunday.You find out lifes this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game -- life or football -- the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you dont quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast, and you dont quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. Theyre in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch.On Sunday afternoon, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced the four teams that will compete for the national championship: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. The season started with the 128 FBS squads, all hoping to make that final four. Those teams played a total of 837 games. Those contests produced more than 640,000 yards of offense. That translates to roughly 360 miles, almost precisely the distance between Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Clemsons Death Valley.Yet somehow, the entire season came down to only a handful of key plays, the outcome of each determined by merely a few yards here and, yes, Mr. Pacino, a few inches there. Yet the sum of their tiny parts shaped the most unpredictable season of the still-young playoff era.Week 1: Two inches Thats what LSU running back Leonard Fournette needed to be added to his vertical leap. With two minutes remaining, down 16-14 to Wisconsin, the Tigers offense was finally waking up. Having just crossed midfield, they handed off to the preseason Heisman favorite, who busted off a run deep into Badgers territory, but when he tried to leapfrog a defender, he caught a helmet to his right leg just below the knee. He limped off the field and never returned. It was the first of a series of nagging hurts that would dog Fournette all season. LSU lost, and head coach Les Miles was walking the plank. Meanwhile, Wisconsin had a big cross-conference win that it -- and the entire Big Ten -- could, and would, hang their hats on all season.Week 4: Ten fingers The two hands of Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins werent able to cleanly catch a fourth-down red zone shotgun snap against Washington at home in overtime. His bobble was just enough to cause a twinge of panic. That milliseconds difference in timing was just enough for the would-be tying TD pass play to break down into an overthrown dying quail pass that sailed over the head of the receiver. Washington survived 35-28 to keep its playoff hopes alive.Week 5: 1? yards In perhaps the best game of the season, Louisvilles Lamar Jackson took Clemsons best shots and repeatedly returned serve. If he does win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, this will be the game many point to ... but the Cardinals lost. With 13 seconds remaining in a six-point game, Jackson threw a strike to James Quick. It was fourth-and-12 at the Clemson 14-yard line. Quick, confused as to where the first-down marker was, stepped out of bounds at the 3. It was less than 2 yards too short. Clemsons playoff season continued, while Louisvilles season took its first step toward eventually becoming derailed.Week 7: 1 foot plus 5 feet, both to the right Back to Death Valley, South Carolina: As the game clock zeroed out to end regulation, a would-be game-winning 33-yard field goal attempt by NC State kicker Kyle Bambard squirted just wide of the right upright. The Tigers won in OT 24-17. Meanwhile, at damp Camp Randall Stadium, also in OT, Ohio States J.T. Barrett tossed a back-shoulder fade to Noah Brown, a ball that found its way past the outstretched fingers of two Wisconsin defenders and floated into the back-right corner to Brown. The Buckeyes won 30-23.Week 8: Ten fingers, two inches, OK ... pretty much all of the above Second-ranked Ohio States magic ran out at Penn State. The Nittany Lions trailed 21-17 when a drive-stopping interception slipped through their fingers with 4:39 remaining. It turned out to be an accidental blessing. The resulting field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown. Penn State won 24-21. It was the first blemish on OSUs record but also the first spark of the question, Can the Big Ten get more than one school into the playoff?Week 11: 1 yard On fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 35, Clemson ran a sweep with tailback Wayne Gallman. He was grabbed around the ankles by nose tackle Jeremiah Taleni and was dropped 1 yard short of the first down. Pitt took over on downs with 52 seconds remaining and drove 34 yards on six plays to kick the winning field goal as time expired.Week 12: Two steps After a touchdown pulled them to within 17-16 with 4:41 remaining, Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio elected to go for two points in a bid to upset Ohio State, which had crawled back up to second in the rankings. Tyler OConnor saw an open receiver at the goal line, but Jamal Lyles moved one step to his right as two defenders took opposite steps toward the inbounds pass and shared an interception. The game essentially ended there, as did Michigan States chances to brighten an otherwise disappointing season.Week 13: The Game, The Spot, The Inch Hey, its Ohio State again! In the second overtime period, on fourth-and-1, head coach Urban Meyer looked over his teams shaky day on special teams and elected not to attempt a game-tying field goal. Instead, Barrett ran a keeper that carried him to the edge of the white yard line he needed to reach. Did he make it? Did he not? The officials -- with help from the replay booth -- said he did. But the ruling is still being debated on either side of the Ohio-Michigan border. Last week a nuclear physicist at Wayne State told the Detroit Free Press that math and chemistry make it incredibly difficult for anyone to get that call right, humans or video cameras. Then again, hes also a Michigan grad.Week 14: 1 foot forward, 1 arm left On Saturday night, almost simultaneously, two conference championship games were determined by about 12 inches each. In Orlando, Virginia Tech was down a TD and down to a fourth down, at the 23 with 1:11 on the clock and thinking overtime. Quarterback Jerod Evans dropped back to throw. Clemson linebacker Kendall Joseph blitzed. Tech knew it was probably coming, and thats why the Hokies had running back Travon McMillian stay home to block. But he was waiting on the right, not the left. As Joseph streaked by, McMillian threw his arm out and grabbed, but got ahold of nothing. Joseph hit Evans as he threw, the pass fell short of tight end Bucky Hodges (who appeared to be wide-open), and the playoff chaos -- at least any involving the ACC -- was avoided. Meanwhile, in the Big Ten championship, Wisconsin was in a nearly identical situation, trailing Penn State 38-31 and deep in enemy territory. Corey Clement was handed the ball on fourth-and-1 with 1:05 remaining. He was met head-on by DBs Marcus Allen and Grant Haley and stopped 1 foot short at the 24-yard line. Penn State saved its game and title. But 12 hours later, it was the Nittany Lions who came up short.Sunday afternoon I stared at my computer monitor, looking at the just-revealed final College Football Playoff rankings. Then I got out a tape measure and checked the distance on that screen between Ohio State in third and Penn State in fifth.It was exactly an inch.So, no offense to the guy from Wayne State, but when it comes to 2016, it doesnt take a doctorate in physics to realize that one of the oldest clichés in sports isnt a cliché at all. Its a game of inches is a rock-solid fact. Just ask any fan who watched any big game of this college football season.Or Al Pacino. Air Force 1 Outlet . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Air Force 1 2020 . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. https://www.cheapairforce1outlet.com/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Air Force 1 For Sale . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Air Force 1 Retro Outlet . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. When it was time out for everyone else, it was time in for NaLyssa Smith.When it was halftime for the others, it was showtime for her.Smith was just 5 years old when she and her brother, Rodney Jr., who was 7, started tagging along to their dads rec basketball games in San Antonio, Texas. And whenever there was a break in the action, NaLyssa took over.Everyone was watching my sister, Rodney Jr. said. She was throwing up shots, and she was swishing and swishing.More than a decade later, those swishes havent stopped.NaLyssa, an undeclared 6-foot-4 junior forward for East Central (San Antonio), is the No. 12 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Terrific 25 for the 2018 class.Basketball has seemingly been her destiny since the day she was born. Her father, Rodney, was a 6-4 forward for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her mother, Nikki, was a 5-8 sprinter on the AAU circuit.Before NaLyssa was born, doctors told her parents they were welcoming a 7-pound baby.Lo and behold, Nikki said, she was almost 10 pounds. The doctor almost dropped her when she came out. We make a joke about that every year on her birthday.Smith, who turned 16 on Aug. 8, was precisely 9 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. About a year later, she was already hooping in the garage with her brother -- swishing and swishing on a little plastic goal.I think she had that basketball mentality coming out of the womb, Rodney Jr. said.Smith was so destined to play basketball that her height has already matched her fathers. She towers over her brother by eight inches.Not that it bothers Rodney Jr.The 5-8 sophomore forward on the University of Saint Mary soccer team scored four goals and led his Spires with four assists last year while competing in the NAIAs Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.These days, he leaves the basketball to his sister.Im her No. 1 fan -- nobody is ever going to take that away from me, Rodney Jr. said. Shes all over my social media. I boost her so much -- Ive got to brag about her.Everyone, it seems, is a fan. Smith averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks last season for a 22-9 team.She has numerous scholarship offers and will start receiving home visits from some of the top college basketball coaches in the nation. She wont narrow her list to five schools until March. In the meantime, she rattled off the schools she is considering: Baylor, Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech, TCU, Ohio State, Arizona State, West Virginia, Connecticut, Louisville, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Maryland, UCLA and Tennessee.Perhaps the first coach she impressed was Ian Ward, who wasnt even a coach at the time. He was just a guy playing adult-league basketball with Rodney Smith Sr.Ward, who is now Smiths coach at East Central, remembers the show she would put on at halftime of theiir games.dddddddddddd.She was tall for her age, and the way she could dribble and put the ball in the basket -- you could tell she was going to be special, Ward said.I dont remember a time where she wasnt at her fathers games. At the end of the timeouts, the refs would run her and her brother off the court. But at the next stoppage in play, they would be right back, getting shots up.Smiths passion for the game has only grown. She failed to make the U.S. U17 team this summer, but that didnt deter her at all.I wasnt really sad about getting cut, she said. It just motivated me to work harder.Next time, Im going to come even stronger to make them see what they missed this season.Smith, who has a 3.1 GPA, is interested in studying child development. She would like to own a daycare after she is done playing, but the possibility of coaching also intrigues her.East Central point guard Brittany Rodgers loves seeing Smith soar for her lob passes. Smith has dunked in practice, and her ability to score at the rim excites her teammates.But Smith is far more than a prototypical post player. She is so skilled that she initially shocked East Central assistant coach Keyondra White, who joined the team last year to mentor the guards.On her first day of practice, White asked the guards to join her.We break up -- bigs over there, guards over here, White said. When she comes with me, Im like, What in the world?But right away, shes doing ballhandling drills, hitting pull-up jumpers. Then she started knocking down 3s, left and right, and I knew she was special.White and Ward said Smith has become much more of a leader this summer, which makes East Central -- with all five starters returning -- a much more dangerous team.Koty Cowgill, who coaches Smith with the SA Finest AAU team, said her greatest attribute may be that she didnt just box herself into becoming a center. She took a complete-game approach, and its the reason shes in such demand with college coaches, Cowgill said.Smiths charisma is such that her father and brother have both tattooed their left arms with her name or nickname.Both NaLyssa and Rodney Jr. wear No. 3, and their brother-sister logo is S3, with the S standing for Smith.Our bond is unbreakable, Rodney Jr. said. I drove eight hours from Kansas to Colorado to see her at USA trials, and she busted out crying when she saw me.After he left for college, Rodney also surprised her at one of her high school games, hugging her on the court during warm-ups. She cried then, too.We go five months apart, so its always emotional when I see him, NaLyssa said. Its super hard.But when he comes home, were always together. ' ' '