CLEMSON, S.C. -- When Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables learned the Tigers were facing Virginia Tech for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, he had a strong message for his players.No. 3 Clemson (11-1; No. 3 College Football Playoff) tries to penetrate the defense of No. 19 Virginia Tech (9-3; No. 23 CFP) on Saturday night in the ACC championship game.Were going to have to play our butts off on defense because I know our offense is going to have to play its butts off, Venables said of Hokies counterpart, Bud Foster. Nothings going to come easy.It rarely does for opponents when facing the game plans of Venables or Foster, two of college footballs best at what they do. Clemsons defense leads the ACC and is eight in the FBS with 307 yards allowed. Virginia Tech is close behind, fourth in the league and 19th overall at 332 yards per game allowed, perhaps more remarkable in a year many figured would be a transition under first-year coach Justin Fuente.But one of Fuentes earliest moves was holding onto Foster, who won the Broyles Award in 2006 as the college footballs top assistant.Foster is glad to maintain his role in Virginia Techs program .Ive been a part of this thing for 30 years now and I like that, Foster said.If Foster wasnt effective, though, he would not be the longest-tenured Bowl Subdivision defensive coordinator at 22 seasons and counting.Virginia Tech defensive end Ken Ekanem said keeping Foster meant the Hokies would not surrender their championship goals to a coaching change.Foster has kept the Hokies humming as they were while winning four ACC titles between 2004 and 2010. Among Power Five conference teams, only Michigan and Wisconsin have been better at stopping opponents on third down than Virginia Tech.I dont ever look forward to going against Bud Foster, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.The one thing that I know Im going to see is a group thats going to play incredibly disciplined. Theyre going to play hard, with great effort. Theyre going to play physical and tough. Theyre going to tackle well, and theyre going to play with a relentless mindset, and thats their DNA.Clemson can be just as relentless under Venables, an unrestrained personality on the sidelines who often needs a staffer to pull him back off the field as he wildly runs his defense.Linebacker Ben Boulware calls him wired. Venables, under the alias Jimmy Greenbeans , plays scout team quarterback in prepping his defenders to make sure things are right. Coach V is intense, defensive end Christian Wilkins said.Venables was hired from Oklahoma after the 2011 season and Clemsons 70-33 Orange Bowl debacle against West Virginia. Since, hes steadily built a group of fast, fiery defenders adept at stopping the run and the pass. They lead the ACC with 16 interceptions and are second with 42 sacks. The Tigers are tied for second nationally with 104 tackles for loss.And he did it this season after six of his starters, five who were underclassmen, were taken in the NFL draft.Im definitely proud of our guys, Clemson senior linebacker Ben Boulware said. Weve been very focused the whole season, especially the latter part of the season.The Tigers have picked things up on defense the past two weeks after giving up a season-high 43 points and 464 yards, their second highest total of the year, in a loss to Pitt on Nov. 12. Clemson has yielded only 20 points and 415 yards combined in easy wins over Wake Forest and South Carolina.Venables is up for the Broyles Award this season, his second straight year as a finalist.Hes honored to share the defensive spotlight this week with Foster. He doesnt chase money or (job) titles and has chosen to stay the course, Venables said. I have a lot of respect for him.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . NFL Jerseys Supply . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . JOHNS, N. http://www.wholesalenfljerseyssupplycheap.com/ . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Cheap NFL Jerseys Paypal . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. China Jerseys . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Coming off of a historic year for racing in 2015, it was going to be hard for 2016 to live up to what we experienced last year. But somehow, 2016 managed to not only keep the momentum of last year going, it built upon the energy generated by American Pharoahs magical Triple Crown and Breeders Cup sweep.This year saw the making of new stars and the reinforcement of the legendary status of others. On this Thanksgiving week, lets take a look back at what we were most thankful for in racing this year.Emergence of New StarsEach year brings with it the excitement of a fresh 3-year-old crop and anticipation over whether any of the contenders has what it takes to make a serious Triple Crown bid. Although Nyquist dominated his division earlier in the year, he couldnt maintain it later in the year as new stars emerged; tops among them was Breeders Cup Classic winner Arrogate.Arrogate became the story in racing for the second half of the year after running down potential Horse of the Year California Chrome. But even before that, Arrogate put up a performance for the ages in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Hard-pressed throughout the early stages of the race, Arrogate was still able to kick clear to a 13-1/2-length victory while smashing the track record.Other emerging stars who showed flashes of greatness in 2016 were Sentient Jet Breeders Cup Juvenile hero Classic Empire and Bob Bafferts new sprinting star Drefong. We were thankful to watch them break out this year and eagerly await whats in store for them in 2017.Miracle of Lady EliPerfection. Thats what Lady Eli stood for through the first six races of her career, from late 2014 to July 4 of last year when she cruised to victory in the Belmont Oaks. Sadly, following that race she stepped on a nail and developed laminitis in both of her front feet. The disease could have ended her life, ignoring entirely what it might have meant for a racing career that started with so much promise.As 2016 progressed, word spread that Lady Eli was making a miraculous recovery and was doing well as she trained for an improbable return to the races. In late August, Lady Eli did indeed come back and bravely battled to a second-place finish in the Ballston Spa at Saratoga. If that wasnt remarkable enough, the filly returned in October to win the Flower Bowl at Belmont. She capped off her return run with another impressive second-place finish in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf.We were thankful just to see Lady Eli make it through her battle away from the track. In a lot of ways, her race results didnt even matter. Yet the fact that she returned and excelled only made her story more incredible.Consistency of ChromeWith the aforementioned retirement of American Pharoah, racing fans were desperate for a star to stand by in 2016 -- they found it in California Chrome. While some dismissed Chromes 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness run as a fluke (given his extremely modest pedigree), the California-bred chestnut already had a large following of Chromies behind him before he even raced this year. Once he hit the track, he gave his faithful fans even more to cheer about.Chrome wwas nearly perfect in 2016.dddddddddddd. After winning the San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita in January, he cruised to victory next out in a handicap in Dubai and then capped off the early part of his year with a dominant performance in the Dubai World Cup. After a four-month break, Chrome came back as sharp as ever, winning three more races highlighted by a five-length win over Beholder in the Pacific Classic.California Chrome took our breath away, time and time again, in 2016 -- and were thankful for it.Battle for the AgesGoing into the Breeders Cup Distaff, the level of hype was immeasurable for the anticipated showdown of then-undefeated champion filly Songbird and the three-time champion older mare Beholder. Although it was unimaginable when they entered the gate for the Distaff, the race managed to somehow exceed expectations.Songbird, facing older and battle-tested horses, continued to make it look easy as she glided to the lead right from the break. With her mind-boggling high cruising speed, there was no one who could, or perhaps even wanted to, keep up with her. When Beholder was asked to run down Songbird, she tried, and then she tried some more. Eventually, Beholders class was on full display as she caught up with her younger foe. From there, the battle to the wire was nothing short of epic.The only shame, from a storytelling perspective, was that the race didnt end in a dead heat -- it might have perhaps symbolized the truest of torch-passings from Beholder to Songbird. Still, there was nothing that could be taken away from Songbird, and there was something quite special about seeing a mare like Beholder go out on top in her final career race.While were talking fillies and mares, lets not forget the incredible performances posted by other ladies this year, including Tepin, Catch a Glimpse, Miss Temple City and Cavorting, to name a few.The People StoriesWhile these sometimes get lost, we are ever grateful for the people who put on the show and who make the incredible sport of racing run. From the backstretch workers to the racetrack employees and outriders to the jockeys and horsemen who are up early every single day, we are thankful. Were also thankful for all of the Thoroughbred aftercare organizations who make sure that so many horses have a place to live and a purpose once their careers on the track come to an end.From jockey Anne Von Rosens recovery from a severe riding accident to Simon Brays courageous battle with multiple myeloma, there are so many others who amazed, astonished and overcame in 2016. We are thankful for them and for all of the people who give everything they have to put on the best show possible on daily basis. Were thankful for the horse bettors, those who keep us fashionably aware and those who know how to make the most of a day at the races. We certainly enjoyed many unforgettable race days in 2016 -- and theres still some time left in the year to make some more memories.For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. ' ' '