AUBURN, Ala. -- Clemson was scoreless in the first quarter, went nearly the final 10 minutes without a point and survived a late touchdown to eke out the victory.The description fit not only Saturday nights 19-13 opening victory over Auburn but also No. 2 Clemsons 20-17 early game against Louisville last season. It was the offenses lowest scoring game of 2015.Clemson then won a similarly close one over Notre Dame before resuming its points-aplenty march to the national title game. Quarterback Deshaun Watson is hoping this one will also be a growth experience.Were going to build confidence, Watson said. We had a lot of experience made and were battle-tested right out of the gate. It is a great learning lesson for all the guys, especially the younger guys.The performance for both Watson and Clemson was more workman-like than spectacular, nothing like top-ranked Alabamas 52-6 romp over No. 20 USC.The common refrain for Clemson after the game was, as center Jay Guillermo said, any win is a good win.Clemson didnt have that win secured until Sean Whites desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete on the final play.It gave Clemson a chance to stare down a serious challenge before presumed mismatches against Troy and South Carolina State. Coach Dabo Swinney was focusing on the positive.Its a great experience for our team, Swinney said. Early in the season to have an experience like that in that type of environment, thats really something we can build on.Great teams get better, and I think thats exactly what were going to do.The 19 points and 399 total yards were pedestrian compared to last seasons averages by Watson & Co. But the three top playmakers all had their moments.Watson was 19-of-34 passing for 248 yards with an interception and a touchdown. Auburn limited him to 21 rushing yards on 11 carries.Wayne Gallman ran for 123 yards and Mike Williams had a splashy return from a neck injury that sidelined him nearly all last season. He had nine catches for 174 yards but lost a fumble. An offense that was 13th nationally in third-down conversions last season converted just 6 of 17 attempts and failed on two of three fourth-down plays.There were also a couple of clock management issues.Clemson burned back-to-back timeouts late in the first half. The first came when the person signaling in the play couldnt hear the call, and the second happened when one player in the huddle didnt know the play. Clemson settled for a field goal.Thats the kind of stuff that will make you pull your hair out, Swinney said.He also made a surprising decision to go for it on fourth down at the end of the game when a 34-yard field goal would have put it away. That came after Gallman was knocked out of bounds to stop the clock on a third-down play.Auburn made the stop and drove into Clemson territory, but couldnt make Swinney pay for his decision.Guillermo wasnt too concerned that the offense didnt put up gaudy stats.We play the game for us, and we want to put on a show obviously. But youve always got to find a way to win, he said. And you cant ever come away from a win disappointed. Jake Elliott Jersey . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Kamu Grugier-Hill Jersey . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseyssale.com/?tag=jerome-brown-jersey-sale . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Isaac Seumalo Jersey . JOHNS, N. Rasul Douglas Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. With a chance to win the WNBA championship Sunday at home in front of a supportive crowd at Staples Center, Los Angeles lost 85-79. Now the Sparks have to go on the road for a winner-take-all Game 5 at Minnesota.Thats a pretty tough spot -- but the Sparks are a pretty positive-minded group, and one of their veterans has her own personal mantra to help. Alana Beard is in her 13th year as a pro, and shes been through some trials, for sure.Yet Beard has been a constant source of good vibes and uplifting support for her Sparks teammates. A win Thursday (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET) would be the first WNBA title for all the current Sparks players. Even if they dont win, Beard will find solace in having given it her all, and in her belief in advice she got in 2001 but didnt fully grasp until a decade later.Beard had finished an outstanding freshman year at Duke and was playing for USA Basketball in the junior world championship in July 2001 in the Czech Republic. Oklahomas Sherri Coale was an assistant coach to UConns Geno Auriemma for that U.S. team.Duke and Oklahoma had been the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the same NCAA regional that March, but both were upset in the semifinals and didnt meet. Beard and Coale were still processing how their seasons had ended. And Coale recognized in Beard something of a kindred spirit.I remember relating so much to Alana because her desire to do well and to be good and make everybody proud was so intense, Coale said. I told her, Youve never heard of this group called .38 Special, but they have this great song called Hold On Loosely. Its a good thing to keep in mind.Beard, then 19, indeed was not familiar with the band nor the song; it was released in 1981 and she was born in 1982. Still, Coales message stuck as a seed, but one that would take awhile to germinate.She said, Do you understand what that means? Beard said. I was like, Yeah, sure. Hold on loosely. I get it. But I really didnt understand what it meant until I was 29 years old.At Duke from 2000-2004, Beard went to the Final Four twice, but didnt get a championship. In her first six WNBA seasons with the Washington Mystics, she was often the leading scorer, but at times struggled to truly lead. Then she was out for two WNBA consecutive seasons with serious ankle and foot issues.Her second missed season was 2011, when she turned 29. That was the year Beard said she had an epiphany. Coales advice from so long again found its way to the surface.I was going through my injury, and I realized basketball alone didnt define me, Beard said. When you go through tough times, you start to understand more about yourself. Basketball was my everything. There were times I was so focused on basketball, I didnt have time for relationships, or my family. And I never wanted to get to that point again.Its weird how it came back to me. It hit me like an aha moment. In my mind, hold on loosely means sometimes you can want something so badly that it slips right out of your grasp. Thats where Ive been at the college level, and at points in my WNBA career.dddddddddddd Ive wanted it so badly that it slips away. Now, I know how to hold on loosely.Beard moved on from Washington as a free agent to Los Angeles in 2012, a team that has had its ups but also some downs, including a mid-season coaching change in 2014, and another coach in 2015. Beard, now 34, missed the first part of last season with plantar fasciitis.Earlier this season after a loss, Beard said Los Angeles coach Brian Agler wanted to remind the Sparks about who they were and what they were trying to accomplish.Coach posed the question, If you were an outsider looking in, what would you say about this team? Beard said. We were going through a rough patch. And I said, This team needs to understand what holding on loosely means. And when I explained it, they all understood it.Did they know the song? No. Beard didnt even recall that part. But the message is what mattered. The lyrics are about relationships between people, but its not a stretch to extend it to how you feel about anything that you really love.When Coale was asked about it recently, her first thought was on her profession in general.As coaches, we must be so aware of what we say, how we say it and when we say it, Coale said. Because it is impactful, for good or ill. These young players in our care are so malleable.We hope thats the cornerstone of everything we do as high school and college coaches -- that were giving people tools with which to successfully navigate not just basketball, but their lives.It also was particularly meaningful to her that Beard recalled this advice and benefited from it. That 2001 junior world championship team didnt win the gold; the Americans were upset by the host Czech Republic in the semifinals and then took bronze. However, it was a group of several future WNBA standouts, including Beard, Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter, Monique Currie, Nicole Powell and Shameka Christon.I actually have a picture of that team in a frame on my shelf in my living room, Coale said. Of all the teams -- and I wasnt even the head coach! Its not like I have pictures of all the teams Ive coached; I dont have enough walls. But I have a picture of that team.It was a really neat connection with that group of kids. And my daughter, who was little then, just loved Alana Beard. So did my son.In fact, Colton Coale, who now works with his mom at Oklahoma, texted her after Beards game-winning basket in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.He was like, Mom, did you see Alanas shot? Coale said. If you get a chance, tell Alana that Sherri and Colton Coale are watching, and we are really proud of her.Even after an emotionally difficult loss like Game 4, Beard still spoke positively about the Sparks having another chance. About staying in the moment.Hold on loosely ... but dont let go. 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