Pirate Galaxy » end it will boil down to a battle betw

ATLANTA -- Coach Paul Johnson isnt concerned with low expectations at Georgia Tech.Its nothing new: Since Johnson took charge of the Yellow Jackets eight years ago, theyve been ranked in The Associated Press final poll just three times, and this season hardly looks promising.Were not at a place where were going to have all these All-Americans and you just reload, he said. Youve got to do it with blue collar and work ethic and that kind of thing. Hopefully it was a lesson a year ago.Georgia Tech is coming off a 3-9 record, 1-7 in the ACC, and missed out on a bowl game for the first time since 1996. The Jackets have been picked to finish sixth in the Coastal Division.Not exactly inspiring stuff, but Johnson has tried to use the lack of respect to his teams advantage.He routinely tells the players that outsiders insist Georgia Tech cant compete on the same level with Georgia and other major programs that border the state.If you look, youre surrounded by programs with double the budgets and all the things, he said. You have to have a chip on your shoulder to survive. Youre not the same in a lot of areas with the (programs) they want to compare you with.Johnson seems to have the players attention.Coach Johnson has definitely brought that up, senior kicker Harrison Butker said.After beating Georgia, advancing to the ACC title game and winning the Orange Bowl two years ago, Johnson thinks some players mistakenly believed they were better than they were.When people are telling you (that) youre really good and you ought to run right through this and run right through that, our guys have historically not handled that very well here, Johnson said.HANGING IN THERESenior quarterback Justin Thomas is eager to play alongside some familiar faces this year.After a sensational 2014 season, Thomas statistics and confidence took a hit last season as the injuries mounted across the offense.Weve all come together closely, and I think a lot of guys know what to expect and what to do, Thomas said. Its not just me. Weve got a whole lot of guys on both sides of the ball being more vocal.NOT-SO-HOT SEATJohnson doesnt appear to have concerns about his job security. Hes under contract through 2020, and it would cost the school over $9 million to buy out the last three years of his deal. Georgia Tech also is searching for a new athletic director after Mike Bobinski left last week for Purdue.SEASON OPENERThe Jackets begin Sept. 3 against Boston College in Dublin, Ireland. Senior center Freddie Burden has told his teammates to consider the long trip a blessing.I almost kind of look at it as making up for our bowl game we missed last year, he said. Its going to be a fun, exciting time. Everybodys hyping it up. Guys are excited to play. I think its everybodys first time going to Ireland and a lot of guys first time flying overseas and being in a different country.KEY GAMESVs. Clemson on Sept. 22, vs. Miami on Oct. 1, at North Carolina on Nov. 5, at Georgia Nov. 26Johnson is 5-4 against Clemson, including the vacated 2009 ACC title game victory. Former Georgia coach Mark Richt is now working in the same capacity with Miami. Johnson says last season turned on a lost fumble against North Carolina.Each year, no game is bigger for Tech than the annual matchup with Georgia.PREDICTION5-7 overall, 3-5 ACC.---This story has been corrected to show that the Sept. 22 game against Clemson is in Georgia, not South Carolina.Dax McCarty Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Antonee Robinson USA Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/Jonathan-Lewis-America-Jersey/ . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Nick Lima USA Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Christian Pulisic Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.Its only two starts, but Chien-Ming Wang appears to be just what the doctor ordered for the Blue Jays beleaguered pitching staff. He has taken the team deep into both games hes pitched and picked up the victory Sunday at Arlington, pitching seven shutout innings while walking two and striking out five. The Blue Jays were able to get Wang, who starred for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 in each of the those seasons, simply because the Yankees felt he couldnt help their big club. They released him from his Triple A deal at Scranton-Wilkes Barre of the International League, allowing him to sign on with the Blue Jays. In a certain way, it reminds me of the success the Jays had with another Yankee discard, Doyle Alexander. In 1982, Doyle went 1-7 for the Yankees with a 6.08 earned run average. He got off to another rocky start in 1983 going 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Then out of frustration one night, he punched a wall and broke his hand. On May 31 of 1983, the Yankees released the 32-year-old Alexander and some wondered if his career could be over. The Blue Jays signed him on June 21 of that season, and suddenly Doyle was reborn. He went 7-6 for the Jays the rest of the season and, more importantly, shaved his earned run average to 3.93. Things only got better the next two seasons under skipper Bobby Cox. Doyle won 17 games in 1984, and 17 again in 1985, the year the Blue Jays won their first division title. In fact, Doyle pitched the division clincher against the Yankees on a Saturday afternoon at Exhibition Stadium on the second last day of the regular season. Doyle had a very strong and serious personality. Bobby Cox left after the 85 season and returned to Atlanta to become general manager of the Braves. Whether it was Cox leaving or some other reason, "Dour Doyle" as he came to be known, slipped a bit in 1986. He was 5-4 with 4.46 ERA when he was ultimately swapped to Coxs Braves in July for a young starting pitching prospect by the name of Duane Ward, who would eventually become part of the greatest 1-2 relief punch the Blue Jays ever had with Tom Henke. Alexander had his moments after leaving Toronto, especially in 1987, when he helped Detroit beat out the Blue Jays for the East Division title on the final weekend of the season at Tiger Stadium. Still, overall, he never again reached the heights he enjoyed in Torronto.dddddddddddd Over two full seasons with the Blue Jays and parts of two others, he went 46-26 with a 3.56 ERA. Though he won 194 games over his career, the best span of Doyles career came in Toronto. Truth be told, over those Toronto years, I enjoyed watching him pitch more than any other Jays starter. The man knew how to pitch. He could change speeds and vary his location as well as anyone Ive ever seen in a Blue Jays uniform. No, he could not blow people away like a Roger Clemens and he wasnt Dave Stieb or Roy Halladay, but when he was on, he could make hitters look foolish. The circumstances are different with Chien-Ming Wang. The Yankees werent fed up with him. They just didnt have a spot for him, what with Michael Pineda going on rehab and expected to finally pitch for the big club in the near future. But the Yankees could get stung on this one, just as they did in 1983 when they released Alexander. The Blue Jays should be so fortunate. Playoff Watch If you look at the American League standings from last year, four of the five teams that made the post-season are holding down playoff positions right now outright with the only exception being the Yankees and Texas, who are tied for the second Wild Card position. Both teams are struggling right now, especially at the plate. The team that has stepped up is Boston. Theyve gone from also rans to first place in the AL East under John Farrell. If this continues the rest of the campaign, Farrell is going to be a shoo-in for American League Manager of the Year. Along those same lines, if the BoSox win the East, Dustin Pedroia would have an excellent shot at the Most Valuable Player Award, though Ive got a feeling in the end it will boil down to a battle between the Orioles slugger Chris Davis and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. The Blue Jays are coming off a great 6-1 road trip, just when they needed it most, to climb to within five and a half games of the second Wild Card spot. But theyve got to come close to sustaining this pace through the end of this month. They have 13 games left in June, including 10 against the East: three at home this weekend against Baltimore followed by three at Tampa Bay and four at Fewnway Park in Boston. Going 8-5 would keep them in the conversation at least about having meaningful games down the stretch. ' ' '