Dein erstes Forum » he USA jersey at two U-18 world championships, t

ATLANTA -- Just for fun, Paul Johnson offered a reminder of his glistening coaching record at Georgia Southern.Then he quickly added But thats all history now.Johnsons time at Georgia Southern, including back-to-back I-AA national championships, looks better than ever these days as he tries to end his Georgia Tech teams sudden two-year slump.Georgia Tech (3-3) will try to end a three-game losing streak when its takes a break from its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule to play Georgia Southern (3-2) on Saturday.Since the start of last season, the Yellow Jackets are 6-12 overall and a distressing 2-10 in ACC games. Last weeks last-second 37-34 loss at Pittsburgh , dropped Georgia Tech to 1/3 in the conference this season.Johnson has offered reminders that the Yellow Jackets first two losses came to Top 25 teams Clemson and Miami and there is still time to salvage a winning season. Even so, the visit from Georgia Southern prompted memories of his time with the Eagles as an assistant under Erk Russell and coach when losing streaks were extremely rare.Ive got really fond memories of the place, Johnson said Tuesday of Georgia Southern. When I was there we were very successful. I was looking at it today, I think my last two years there as offensive coordinator and the five years as coach we were 26-4 and 62-10, so we won a lot of games.Johnson was Georgia Southerns coach from 1997-2001. The Eagles won five straight Southern Conference championships and won national titles in 1999 and 2000.The Eagles have lost two straight games under first-year coach Tyson Summers, including a last-second loss to Arkansas State last week.---Here are some things to know about Georgia Southerns visit to Georgia Tech:POSSIBLE MILESTONE: A win over Georgia Tech would be a highlight for the Eagles, who began their transition to the Sun Belt and FBS in 2013 and beat Bowling Green in the GoDaddy Bowl last year. Following the bowl win, coach Willie Fritz left Georgia Southern to take over the Tulane program. A win obviously versus a Power 5 team and probably more importantly a team thats in our state is an important piece, Summers said. If we can find a way to win this one and be 4-2, itll be a step to getting us back on track.PEACHY TRIO: This will be the second of three games against state rivals for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets beat Mercer 35-10 on Sept. 10 and close their regular season at Georgia on Nov. 26.MATTHEW TIME: The Eagles had an extra three days since their loss to Arkansas State on Oct. 5, but Hurricane Matthew interrupted plans for extra practice for Georgia Tech. We were trying to take care of our families and our community, Summers said. We tried to have a little bit more time with our staff but really havent been able to do it with our players like you would think.BIG SCARE: Georgia Tech survived a late scare to beat Georgia Southern 42-38 in 2014. The Eagles rallied from a 35-10 deficit to lead 38-35. I think we kind of felt like it was over at halftime, and to their credit they came back with guns blazing, Johnson said. Weve got to be ready to play one of our better games. The two option offenses combined for 1,064 yards in the 2014 game.GEORGIA SOUTHERN COACHING CONNECTION II: Georgia Tech offensive line coach Mike Sewak was Georgia Southerns coach from 2002-05. Sewaks son, Nick Sewak, is a long snapper for the Eagles.---Online: http://collegefootball.ap.org Aaron Ramsey Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Custom Wales Soccer Jerseys . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/gareth-bale-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Gareth Bale Jersey . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Joe Ledley Wales Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . A few days before the final roster was to be announced for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey,?Jack Johnson got a phone call from a member of USA Hockeys management team who asked him to meet the group in Cleveland for dinner, along with fellow defenseman Erik Johnson. The two?players had earned a silver medal together at the 2010 Olympics but had been left off the 2014 team.Typically, when it comes to roster selections, no news is good news. But Jack Johnson had no clue what an invitation to dinner signaled for his chances, so he immediately called Erik Johnson (no relation) to see if he knew anything more.Both of us had the same question: Did this mean we were on the team? said Jack, a 29-year-old blueliner for the?Columbus Blue Jackets. We just didnt know. We had never been invited to dinner like that before and were second-guessing ourselves the entire time leading up to it.Team USA general manager Dean Lombardi, who is also the GM for the Los Angeles Kings, and coach John Tortorella, who also coaches the Blue Jackets, were both in Cleveland to watch their respective AHL affiliates battle in the Calder Cup playoffs.?John and I wanted to meet with Erik and Jack specifically to explain to them the importance of fulfilling their role whenever John puts them in -- whether its 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes, Lombardi explained. We wanted to be perfectly clear with them about our expectations.Lombardi and Tortorella?showed them cuts compiled from more than six hours of video on each player -- the good, the bad and even a little ugly. The GM and coach then talked about the players job descriptions and roles for the tournament, and even described the scouting process they went through to reach that point. But neither Lombardi nor Tortorella had yet to reveal whether either Johnson had actually made the team.All signs were pointing in that direction, but we werent allowing ourselves to get excited until we actually knew, Jack Johnson said. Finally, when things were wrapping up, Erik flat-out asked them if all this meant we had made the team. Dean Lombardi kind of chuckled and said yes -- and I was finally able to breathe.Not making the Olympic team in 2014 was a tough pill to swallow for Jack Johnson. After being an overtime goal away from a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 and settling for silver, he wanted another crack at the Olympics. But that disappointment turned out to be the least of his concerns that year. That fall, he filed for bankruptcy after he discovered his parents had taken out several large, high-rate loans against his future earnings and had defaulted on more than $6 million of debt with several million still due.The legal process is still going on, but right now Im closer to the end of it than the start of it, Jack Johnson said. Unfortunately with my family, things arent ideal. But Ive started a family of my own and it gives me a lot more perspective on things and a lot more clarity on it.Over the past year and a half, Jack Johnson has ggotten married, had a daughter and found his game again.ddddddddddddI never gave up on the hope of putting the USA jersey on again, Johnson said. Coach Tortorella called me last summer and said hed be watching me, so I knew making this team was a real possibility. I just had to go out there and be myself and not let anything else affect me and just get back to having fun playing hockey again. I think all the positive things that happened for me in a short amount of time this past year helped me do that.As far as Lombardi is concerned, Jack Johnson is exactly the type of player he wants on this team.Theres no way were going to win this thing unless we play hard and are hard to play against, Lombardi said. We know thats what were going to get from Jack on every shift, and after going through the scouting process, we knew we wanted him on our blueline making it difficult for the other teams top lines.Both Erik, at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds, and Jack, who is 6-foot-1, 240, bring a big, physical presence to the blueline.It was pretty clear to Erik and I -- and I think we were there together because well probably play together -- were going to be out there with a very physical presence, Jack Johnson said. There will be plenty of guys who can bring the offensive side of the game, but they think we can bring the strong defensive side of the game that might have been lacking before.Once Lombardi said the magic word that revealed Jack was on the World Cup roster and allowed him to exhale, Johnson knew it was just Step 1 and that there was still more work to be done.When he said yes, I flat-out told him, I promise you. I wont let you down. Whatever you want -- kill penalties, block shots, change water bottles -- whatever you want, Ill be happy to do it, said Johnson, who has worn the USA jersey at two U-18 world championships, two world junior championships, five world championships and one Olympics with a gold, two silver and a bronze medal to show for it.Im not sure theres another player who takes more pride in putting on that USA jersey than Jack, Lombardi said. Its real. The pride he takes in that jersey is unsurpassed. I think he likes wearing the USA jersey more than his NHL jersey, and I have no doubt hell do everything he can to help the team win.For Jack Johnson, this opportunity is more than just another chance to put on that jersey and win a gold medal. Its proof that he can bounce back.I was dealing with a lot [in 2014] and I didnt play well enough to make it impossible for them to leave me off the team, and I take full responsibility for that, Johnson said. I knew my game wasnt at the level it could have been or needed to be, but you have to learn from it and keep pushing forward. When you do that, things always seem to turn around as long as you keep the right frame of mind. This time, I know I earned my way back onto this team. ' ' '