Thomas, who scored three rushing TDs last weekend, and C

MIAMI -- When the Utah Jazz (6-4) invade AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday night, they will be looking to beat the Miami Heat (2-5) and put an exclamation point on what has so far been an excellent road trip.When the Jazz left home a little more than a week ago, they were a .500 team at 3-3. But they have since gone 3-1, including an 87-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.Saturdays game will be Utahs fifth in seven nights.You have to be mentally tough, Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood told the media. This is the end of the trip. We have to be smart and focused.An interesting aspect of this winning road trip is that most of it has been accomplished without starting point guard George Hill, who is second on the team in scoring (20.4) and first in assists (5.0).Hill has missed the past three games due to a sprained right thumb, and the 30-year-old veteran was the teams key offseason acquisition.Dante Exum, a 6-6 Australian and the No. 5 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has been starting in Hills place, although his numbers this season are modest -- 6.3 points, 1.7 assists.Fortunately for the Jazz, 6-8 small forward Gordon Hayward just keeps getting better -- he has led Utah in scoring in each of the past three years. This season, he is leading again, averaging 25.7 points.Hood, a 6-6 former Duke star, is also improving. He averaged 8.5 points as a rookie, 14.5 points last season and is at 17.9 this year. Derrick Favors (10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds) is a solid veteran at power forward and is capable of more -- he averaged 16.4 points last season.Rounding out the Utah starting lineup is 7-1 French center Rudy Gobert, who is nearly averaging a double-double -- 9.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.Gobert, who will be a restricted free agent after this season, should have an interesting matchup on Saturday against Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who got paid this past summer.Whiteside, who signed a four-year, $98 million extension with Miami, is averaging 17.9 points and 14.7 rebounds -- monster numbers.Still, Whitesides heroics are not enough for the Heat, who are on a three-game losing streak. The skid could have been six in a row had Miami not escaped with an overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.Whiteside stated what is pretty obvious, that there has been a talent drain on the Heat and that losing Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh off of last seasons team has hurt him in particular.With D-Wade, I never had to work on it, said Whiteside, explaining that his former teammate would often feed him lobs that led to easy dunks. He just saw it.Whiteside is still putting up impressive numbers -- he had 20 points and a season-high 20 rebounds on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls. But the lob dunks arent there as much, and Miami lacks the perimeter shooting to make teams pay for sagging and doubling on Whiteside.If teams collapse on Hassan, we have to be ready to make a play, said Miamis Justise Winslow, who could be emerging as a point forward. We would love to get Hassan lobs. But we have to read the defense and take what they give us. We cant force.Perhaps Saturday is the night the Heat break out of their slump. After all, the Jazz, who have former Heat forward Joe Johnson as part of their bench brigade, have talked openly about fatigue setting in at the end of this trip.Weve played a lot of games, Hayward said. It feels like weve been on the road for quite a while now. Athletics Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Authentic Custom Athletics Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. http://www.customathleticsjersey.com/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Custom Athletics T-shirts .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Custom Tony Phillips Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. (STATS) -- John Grass has been looking around for a hornets nest this week.Not because he wants to chance fate, but due to the way he feels about Jacksonville State walking into Death Valley on Saturday night to play angry and determined No. 21 LSU.Left stirred and shaken from last weekends 16-14 loss to previously unranked Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, the Tigers have plenty to prove in their home opener.Grass knows it.Its kind of like sticking our head in a hornets nest, the Gamecocks coach said. Its a difficult challenge. Weve got to go down there and respond. Handle the stage, handle the environment.In the eyes of college footballs landscape, a FCS program taking down a perennial FBS power is an obvious upset. However, Jacksonville State is the reigning national runnerup and put a scare into then No. 6 Auburn before falling 27-20 in overtime a year ago this month. The Gamecocks are just 5-19 against FBS schools, but did beat Mississippi 49-48 in double overtime in 2010 and left an impression with that effort at Auburn.A week ago, fellow FCS cronies Eastern Washington, Richmond, Albany and Northern Iowa all defeated FBS schools.You say you believe you can win any game youre going into, said Grass, who is 24-4 at Jacksonville State. Our guys dont really look at who theyre playing. Its about how we play. I think if you approach it that way, the guys tend to play better.(The game at Auburn) kind of proved what we preach that its how we play. We just didnt make enough plays at the end to win that game. Hopefully well go out and play this week, play good ourselves.While the Gamecocks have some SEC-caliber talent in transsfer running backs Roc Thomas (Auburn) and Josh Clemons (Kentucky), senior quarterback Eli Jenkins is their true heart and soul.dddddddddddd The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year threw for 230 yards and ran for 101 on 13 carries in last weeks 31-12 win over North Alabama to move into fifth place in league history with 8,688 total yards.We depend on him all the time, Grass said.Against Auburn, Jenkins was 26 of 43 for 277 yards with a touchdown and an interception so hes no stranger to playing against some of the best competition in the country.It gives us a chance to prove that we can play against anyone and play in front of more folks that would we normally not play in front of with the big crowds, Jenkins told Jacksonville States official website. It gives us a chance to show what we got and a great opportunity to play our best football.Both Thomas, who scored three rushing TDs last weekend, and Clemons experienced the LSU environment during their time in the SEC.It is very exciting to play there and from the moment you start to warm up, the fans are on you, Clemons said. People are out there when the bus pulls up and they will be in to it the whole game, no matter the score. We wont have a problem getting our energy level up.The Gamecocks are not the only OVC squad matching up with a FBS foe this weekend. On Saturday, Eastern Illinois visits Miami (Ohio) and UT Martin makes the long trek to take on Hawaii.Ohio Valley teams went 0-5 against the FBS to open this season. ' ' '