CLEMSON, S. Miguel Cabrera Tigers Jersey .C. -- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson believes he is the best player in the country no matter what the Heisman Trophy voters say.Watson finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. Jacksons rise also meant Watson did not repeat even as first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback.Clemson coach Dabo Swinney agrees with Watson that he should have won the Heisman Trophy.Swinney said Heisman voters likely were numbed by Watsons amazing play over three years.The quarterback is excited that his chief goal in college -- winning the national championship -- is still out there.The Tigers (12-1, No. 2 CFP) play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.Watson, his coach and his teammates think the voters for the Heisman and the all-conference teams got it wrong when it comes to the Clemons QB.Im the best player in the country. Thats how I think. Thats how I feel. People have their own way of voting, Watson said Monday as Clemson wraps up its first week of practice before playing Ohio State.Watson finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting this year, one spot better than 2015. But Jackson won the award, and knocked Watson out of first-team Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback as well -- two disappointing blows to a driven competitor like Watson.Though his losses werent caused as much by a slide in his own play as Jacksons remarkable season.Watsons 2016 stats are similar to his 2015 numbers in almost every category. He has thrown two more interceptions in two fewer games, but he also has thrown just four fewer passes so far this year than in 2015 for the Tigers (12-1, No. 2 CFP)Swinney said the Heisman Trophy has been watered down as voters get swayed by the player who suddenly bursts on the scene and misses out on players like Watson, who are consistently good over a career.I think Deshaun is so good, people are numb to it, Swinney said.Both Watson and Swinney say they arent knocking Jacksons talent and they understand how he won. But unlike Jackson, who only has the Citrus Bowl against LSU left before his season ends, Watson hopes to be play two more games and achieve the ultimate goal he had when arriving Clemson from Gainesville, Georgia.You could put the national championship trophy and the Heisman, he wouldnt think twice about which one to pick, Swinney saidThe championship is what Watson would talk about when he used his key to unlock Clemsons indoor practice facility late at night and throw balls to rehabilitating receiver Mike Williams during the offseason.He knows he is the best player in the country. He doesnt need a trophy to say that, Williams said.And while the voters might have rejected Watson, the people who know football will validate his talent when he enters the NFL draft, Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said.As soon as this season is over, the scouts, GMs, head coaches and offensive coordinators will start speaking with Deshaun and he is going to go straight back to the top, Scott said.Swinney said Watson showed his leadership by taking full advantage of the experience of being a two time Heisman Trophy finalist without letting the third place finish in 2015 and the second place finish in 2016 get to him.Im sure hes disappointed. But he hasnt expressed that at all, Swinney said.Watson said he is proud of his career no matter how the next game (or two) turns out. He wore this years ACC championship hat to during interviews on Monday and is aware of how he took a Clemson team on the cusp of being a national contender to join Alabama as the only back-to-back playoff teams. The Tigers also won two straight ACC titles for the first time in 28 seasons.Watson has the same cool demeanor responding to questions about what his college career will mean without a national title as he has had about not winning the Heisman. But his quiet words point out how much a fourth loss of his college career will hurt.Ive already experienced not getting it -- felt how big that was, Watson said.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org Francisco Rodriguez Tigers Jersey . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Alan Trammell Jersey . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. http://www.baseballtigersonline.com/nick-castellanos-tigers-jersey/ . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. FORT WORTH, Texas -- NASCAR just left Texas Motor Speedway, and as they say, everything is bigger ...... aw, cmon, who are we kidding?Nothing seems bigger about NASCAR these days. Despite a year when the racing has genuinely improved and a year when the major car owners and NASCAR took the first step of many toward a more manageable business model, NASCAR remains stuck in a rut.?The public companies say ticket revenue compared to last year has dropped 9.2 percent since the Daytona 500. The television ratings for the Chase have tanked quicker than a 3-games-to-1 lead in the World Series. Despite trying to tackle the problems with grit and determination, NASCAR brass just cant seem to lift NASCAR out of its funk.?NASCAR has a glaring problem. It needs more people to care about its drivers and its outcomes. Unlike the baseball drought phenomenon that dominated its World Series, NASCAR has no such story line. The final eight drivers in its Chase come from the four organizations that have won titles in the previous four years. Five of the eight drivers have already won championships and none of the remaining three (Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano) would trigger a wave of passion by hoisting the Cup. When Jimmie Johnson goes for his seventh championship, the audience might rally behind it -- to root against him. ?NASCAR doesnt have a Conor McGregor. It doesnt have a Tiger Woods. It kind of has Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he has remained sidelined by a concussion, but NASCAR needs to prepare for life without him anyway as he enters the twilight of his racing career with or without battling the head injury.?Beyond the big rain delay, there was a big elephant in the room at Texas: The fact that NASCAR has not announced a series sponsor yet for next season. NASCAR has had nearly two years to find a new sponsor and NASCAR executives have tried to keep everyone calm, indicating that finding the right partner takes time and that conversations remain productive. Patience is the key to finding the best deal for the industry. In just the past few days, those in the industry feel confident that NASCAR will land a sponsor soon.?But teams have finished 2017 photo shoots, leaving spots open on uniforms for a series logo. Walk through the garage in the past couple of months, and many wonder who will sponsor the series. Johnson said last week even the drivers are being left in the dark when it comes to who will be the series sponsor.?Thats understandable. No company looking to spend likely in the nine figures during the duration of the contract would want to face too much scrutiny beforehand in worries of it potentially killing the deal.??NASCAR needs to announce the deal is done sooner than later. The later this process goes, the less time a company has to implement a strong kickoff of the sponsorship in February. Track signage, NASCAR official uniforms, any advertising that needs to be sold for radio and television needs to get done.?Most important: NASCAR needs a company to serve as a public face that NASCAR remains a valuable entity for sponsors.?While track seating capacities have shrunk in the past few years, anyone who spent time in the Talladega infield a few weekends ago or in the parking lots at Bristol in August could see enough people that only the myopic would primarily blame the economy for the sports ills.Just last Thursday, Anheuser-Busch announced it would increase the number of races it would sponsor Kevin Harvick next year, going from 12 to 16 after a successful launch with its Busch brand in 2016. Geico also will increase its spend at tracks next year. Those decisions make solid counterarguments to the recent announcements that Dollar General and Farmers Insurance plan to leave the sport.?But until NASCAR signs a series sponsor, its leadership will come into question. Texas boasted last week that it has fans from every continent. It needs all the diverse fans it can get -- having the sports chairman endorse either of the polarizing political candidates doesnt exactly scream inclusion. ?In 2011, NASCARs leadeership began to implement a five-year industry action plan. Alan Trammell Tigers Jersey. Later that year, the Cubs hired Theo Epstein to rebuild its baseball organization. The sporting world saw last week what patience and commitment can bring during a five-year stretch.?NASCAR couldnt execute its plan. It has tried admirably in many ways, although it seems every step toward improvement was saddled with challenges. NASCAR tried to more nimbly change things that needed changing, but then it got criticized (in some ways rightfully so) for not sticking to its rules. It tried to turn inspection into more black-and-white and now suffers the problem that when measuring to thousandths of an inch, it cant figure out how to equitably penalize those who fail by thousands of an inch while managing the public perception of cheating.?Those havent been the only growing pains. NASCAR tried to make cars that look more like the cars at home but, handcuffed by the reality that these cars need to be safe, cant go back to the days of racing true stock cars. It tried to design cars that created parity only to make it as much of a battle of engineers instead of a battle of drivers. It created an elimination-style points Chase in which every point and every win put the season in the balance to create incredible drama and excitement but it also created a scenario in which every instance of borderline unethical teamwork and every scoring decision turns a spotlight on NASCAR officials instead of its drivers.?By trying to create a spark by bringing in people from outside the sport into its leadership team, NASCAR created a level of mistrust between its leadership and those entrenched in the garage for decades. It has admirably -- in a huge shift in philosophy -- created the most collaborative atmosphere the industry has seen, but it still leaves some wondering how much NASCAR listens when NASCAR makes a decision that frustrates as many as it pleases.NASCAR has tried to stay relevant in a world where passion for cars has dwindled and its stars no longer develop personalities and skills at their local short tracks. Its developmental series primarily serve as a vehicle for drivers who come from money to play with high-speed toys, leaving those with pure talent at a disadvantage and those with raw talent not much time to develop.?Some of NASCARs initiatives shouldnt be discounted. Its pit-road officiating system has appeared to have worked flawlessly. Its Air Titans proved effective in drying tracks quicker -- some more than others -- depending on the surface, banking and the temperatures. NASCAR has not had a death in any of its three national touring series since 2001, a record of safety that one cant ignore even amid the slowness of adding SAFER Barrier to more walls.?Those successes show NASCAR has hope, has potential to dig itself out of its hole. It has a great television deal -- at least as far as the money it pours into the tracks to keep their stock prices as stable as possible -- and eight years left on it to figure out how to build the sport so when the television contract ends, NASCAR has veered from its dirt road on to the recovery highway.?Which brings NASCAR back to trying to find a sponsor. It cant promise the world to a sponsor or tell the sponsor that everything is great. Anyone with the ability to read a financial report or television ratings report can figure that out. NASCAR might never return to its money-printing days of the mid-2000s, but it doesnt have to in order to survive, in order to have a place in the sports landscape.?As NASCAR remains at the crossroads, the industry must remember the big picture of providing big value to fans and sponsors with drivers having a big influence on their result.Those hoping for bigger wallets and either wearing or trying to deliver big blinders as far as the state of a sport still trying to regain its footing will only set themselves up for a Texas-sized disappointment. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '