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. Fake Penguins Jerseys . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Penguins Jerseys 2019 .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Pittsburgh Penguins Shirts . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Penguins Jerseys 2020 . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Trainer Graham Motion predicted that Ring Weekend would run a much-improved race in Mondays Grade 2 Bernard Baruch than he had 16 days earlier in the Fourstardave. And he couldnt have been more right, as Ring Weekend not only won the closing-day co-feature at Saratoga by a neck over Jay Gatsby but also established a course record.Ring Weekend finished sixth and last in the Grade 1 Fourstardave. But Motion noted that his horse had not only become a little rank after getting pinched at the start of the race but also was making his first start in three months and just his second in nearly a year and a half that day.Id be very disappointed if he didnt turn in a much more Ring Weekend kind of performance, Motion said 48 hours in advance of the Bernard Baruch.On Monday, John Velazquez, who guided Ring Weekend to an easy victory in the Grade 3 Saranac here two years ago, placed Ring Weekend in perfect striking position off the pace, set for much of the way by Take the Stand. Ring Weekend eased out to launch his bid in early stretch and outfinished Jay Gatsby, with the pair bumping briefly nearing the wire.Jay Gatsby improved his position along the inside on the second turn, eased out between horses to continue his bid near midstretch, was put in tight quarters and jostled when Take the Stand came out slightly under left-handed pressure approaching the wire, and could not quite match strides with Ring Weekend at the end. Take the Stand succumbed very grudgingly, finishing just a nose farther back in third.Following a stewards inquiry and claim of foul by Jay Gatsbys jockey, Javiier Castellano, against the winner, the result stood as is.ddddddddddddThe victory was the sixth in 17 starts for Ring Weekend, who became a Grade 1 winner at Santa Anita during the winter of 2015 before going to the sidelines for better than 14 months due to foot issues. His final time of 1:38.29 for 1-1/16 miles eclipsed the previous track mark of 1:38.54 set by Ironicus in winning the 2015 Bernard Baruch. Ring Weekend paid $7.90 as the slight favorite in a field of nine older turf specialists.Motion watched the race from the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens, where he was attending the U.S. Open tennis matches.Serena [Williams] won her match just as [Ring Weekend] crossed the finish line, so the timing was a little awkward, Motion quipped when reached by phone several minutes after the race. In fairness to the horse, last time he got really aggressive after getting cut off at the break. This was the real Ring Weekend we saw today. Hes had an incredibly tough year, so I am very proud of him. You never expect any horse to set a track record, but I know what hes capable of, so Im not totally surprised.Motion said he has no definite plans for Ring Weekend other than to point him for the Breeders Cup Mile.I might just want to wrap him up in cotton balls and wait for the Breeders Cup, Motion said when asked what might be next. Seriously, I imagine he might run again, although I wouldnt mind just sitting on him and waiting for the Breeders Cup, which is our major goal. ' ' '