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MIAMI -- Only one thing remains to make this a great Florida trip for the Los Angeles Clippers: beating the Miami Heat on Friday night.Already the trip includes two highlights.On Tuesday night, Clippers guard Austin Rivers had his No. 25 high school jersey retired at Winter Park, Fla., which is in the Orlando area.Better yet, the entire Clippers team was there. They flew in from Los Angeles late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. They arrived in Orlando at 6 p.m., but their bus got a flat tire on the way to Winter Park High.The 20 Clippers representatives in the bus -- including Los Angeles coach and Austins father, Doc Rivers -- then called several Ubers to make sure they got to the gym on time for the 7:30 tip, which they did.Rivers became just the second athlete to have a jersey retired in the Winter Park gym -- the first was his sister Callie, who won three state titles in volleyball.Im so appreciative of everyone who came out, Austin Rivers said. Im very grateful.Rivers was also grateful that he passed a concussion test after missing the Clippers game Monday due to that issue.He not only passed the test, but he also proved he was in fine form by scoring a team-high and season-high 25 points Wednesday in a 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic. He matched a career high by making seven 3-pointers, converting on 7 of 10 from long distance.Now comes the last part of what could be a great Clippers trip to the Sunshine State, and beating the Heat (9-17) is not the arduous assignment it used to be.However, Miami won its past two games and is feeling a bit better about itself as a team. Heat center Hassan Whiteside -- never lacking for confidence -- felt empowered to take some shots at Clippers center DeAndre Jordan on Thursday.No, Whiteside said when asked whether his game and Jordans are similar. He catches lobs. I shoot jumpers, catch lobs, block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs.Keep in mind, Jordan last season was a first-team All-NBA player. On Wednesday, Jordan became the all-time Clippers leader in blocked shots.Whiteside doesnt care about that and doesnt give Jordan much credit, either.(Jordans) got CP3 as a point guard -- a great North Carolina point guard, Id like to add, Whiteside said.Translation: Jordan is made to look good because he has Chris Paul, a nine-time NBA All-Star, throwing him easy passes at the rim.The Clippers (19-7) won both meetings with the Heat last season. Jordan missed the first matchup, and Whiteside played in a reserve role, averaging just 22 minutes in those two games.This time, Whiteside is the focal point of the Heats plans. He is not only a starter but also has a four-year, $98 million contract as tangible prove of his value.The tale of the tape between the big men shows a lot of similarities.Whiteside, a 27-year-old from North Carolina, is 7 feet, 265 pounds. He shoots 53.7 percent on free throws.Jordan, a 28-year-old native of Texas, is 6-11, 265 pounds. He shoots 54.1 percent on free throws.Both men entered the league as second-round picks. Jordan was the 35th overall pick in 2008. Whiteside was picked 33rd in 2010.There are significant differences, however: Jordan has spent his entire career with the Clippers while Whiteside has played with 10 teams, most of them in leagues other than the NBA.Despite the relatively late start to finding his niche, Whiteside has better numbers than Jordan this season in a few key areas, averaging 17.6 points, 14.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Jordan is averaging 11.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocksHowever, Jordan shoots 65 percent from the floor. Whiteside, who has indeed expanded his game beyond dunks, shoots 54.2 percent from the floor.In other storylines regarding Fridays game:--Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute missed the Wednesday game due to a sore shoulder. It was his first missed game of the season.--Heat guard Tyler Johnson missed practice Thursday due to an unspecified illness. Cesc Fabregas Chelsea Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Callum Hudson-Odoi Chelsea Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. http://www.chelseasoccerjerseysonline.com/womens-emerson-chelsea-jersey/ .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Eden Hazard Chelsea Jersey . JOHNS, N. Marcin Bulka Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Will Muschamp had no worries about sending Elliott Fry out for the longest field goal of his career. Even though this was the coachs first game with South Carolina, he had seen the kicker connect repeatedly in clutch situations.Fry kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal with 35 seconds left, and the South Carolina Gamecocks rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Vanderbilt 13-10 Thursday night in Muschamps debut as head coach.I had total confidence, Muschamp said.So did senior quarterback Perry Orth.Ive been here the same amount of time as Elliott, Orth said. Ive seen him make those in practice. Hes made a few clutch kicks in games. I knew if we got the ball close to the 35 and in, wed have a chance.Muschamp started Orth at quarterback and also played freshman Brandon McIlwain. But it was Orth who went back into the game in the third quarter and threw for 152 yards rallying the Gamecocks to their eighth straight victory over Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.Vanderbilt now is 0-3 in season openers under coach Derek Mason, though his Commodores did manage to score an offensive touchdown in the first half. But Tommy Openshaw missed a 45-yard field goal wide left with 3:44 left, and Vandy turned it over on downs with 14 seconds left.Every decision we made will be questioned, Mason said. The bottom line is we didnt win this game. Now we have to get back to next week and play MTSU.Fry also kicked a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Deebo Samuel atoned for a fumbled punt in the first quarter by scoring an 8-yard TD on an end-around with 7:30 left. Fry had total confidence he could connect from 55 after barely coming up short from 62 in warmups.I knew I could hit it, said Fry, whose previous long was 52 yards.TAKEAWAYSSouth Carolina: The second half was a complete turnaround from the first with the Gamecocks nearly pinning themselves deep on the opening kickoff before officials ruled the returner had knelt down for the touchback. McIlwain took over at the beginninng of the second quarter after Orth managed 23 yards of offense in the first.dddddddddddduschamp said the plan coming in had been to get McIlwain into the game early. But McIlwain lost a fumble, so the coach went back to Orth. The senior was 6 of 8 for 117 yards in the second half as the Gamecocks gained 220 yards on offense.Vanderbilt: The Commodores got their hands on lots of passes defensively but couldnt pick off even one despite that being an area of focus this season. They forced two fumbles but couldnt get off the field in the second half.COOPERS REPLACEMENT: The Gamecocks might have been wondering who would replace Pharoh Cooper, now with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL. Freshman Bryan Edwards did his best to step up, pulling in catch after catch. His best was a 43-yarder, and he finished with eight receptions for 101 yards in his first game. Hes that kind of talent, and hes going to be huge for us the rest of the season, Orth said.QB ISSUESSouth Carolina knew it had questions at quarterback with Muschamp unable to pick between his trio. Mason had said repeatedly before the opener that Kyle Shurmur was his starter with Wade Freebeck the backup. But Vandy brought in Freebeck the drive after the Commodores scored a TD to go up 10-0. Freebeck was in for two consecutive drives and managed 1 yard over six plays. The switch had fans wondering what happened and was reminiscent of quarterback struggles in recent years.It was predetermined, Mason said. We needed to get Wade a series or two ... Kyle needed to find more rhythm. He didnt have rhythm. We needed to make some plays. We wanted to find momentum.UP NEXTSouth Carolina: The Gamecocks visit Mississippi State, a team theyve beaten seven straight games, on Sept. 10.Vanderbilt: The Commodores host Middle Tennessee looking for a second straight victory over a school 40 miles away. MTSU won three straight before Vanderbilt ended that skid a year ago. ' ' '