CHESTNUT Hill, Mass. -- Louisville?used the No. 7 ranking it received from the College Football Playoff committee earlier this week as extra motivation Saturday against Boston College and piled up the points in a 52-7 win as a way to make a statement.?Coach Bobby Petrino isnt happy with the idea that his team must blow out its final three opponents to make a better impression on the committee.I guess we do, Petrino said. Its sad because theres something called sportsmanship, but maybe I made a mistake. Maybe looking back at it, in Florida State [a 63-20 win Sept. 17], we should have kept all the starters in and scored 80 points and did that. But I dont understand why its like that. I really dont. And then you look at Clemson and the schedule they beat, the guys in the top 10 that they beat, and what Alabama has done, why isnt Clemson rated No. 1 [in the CFP]?Committee member Kirby Hocutt, in an interview with College Football Live on ESPN Radio, didnt agree with Petrinos reasoning.As weve said as a selection committee before, we do not incent margin of victory. We look at performance on the field, but we do not incent the margin of victory. We do not talk about that in our committee room, Hocutt said. Louisville is a very strong team, very impressive win against Florida State earlier this season. They continue to win. Their schedule, as we talked about it last week, was just not as strong as others that they were being compared against up to this point of time in the season.Obviously, they had a very good win today against Boston College, and Im sure our committee will look forward to getting back together and having some great conversation and doing a deeper dive into all these teams yet again this week, with another game of the regular season in front of us.Texas A&M lost to Mississippi State on Saturday, so Louisville will move up at least one spot when the next CFP rankings are unveiled Tuesday. The committee had said the Cardinals were put behind one-loss Texas A&M and one-loss Ohio State in the initial rankings because they had a weaker schedule and needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Virginia (2-6) the previous week.Now Petrino wants to know why strength of schedule is being held against his team but not helping the Tigers, who are ranked No. 2 behind Alabama. Louisvilles only loss this season came in the final minute against Clemson 42-36.When asked whether there are six teams better than his, Petrino said, I dont think so, but heck, what do I know? I know we played well today, and I really like our football team. I think they come to work and practice with a great attitude, and we really are a team. We rely on each other, and we take care of each other, so thats something that is fun for me as a coach is to just see how good a team we are and how much these guys love each other. BANGKOK -- Amanda Carr didnt let the disappointment of missing selection for the 2012 Olympics hold her back for long.She got back on her BMX, changed direction and is now finalizing her packing plans for Rio de Janeiro, and harboring genuine medal ambitions. Just not for the U.S.Carr will be representing Thailand in Rio, having switched allegiance after missing a spot on the U.S. team for London four years ago. She has already won a gold medal for Thailand at the 2014 Asian Games.A dual U.S.-Thai citizen from Punta Gorda, Florida, Carr been racing BMX since she was five.She won her age-group events at the BMX World Championships in 2005 and 2006 but, realizing she would not be quite old enough to be eligible for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, she put the sport aside and decided to work toward becoming a student athlete. She won a soccer scholarship to North Carolina State. After a transfer to Florida State she trained in heptathlon.It was in her dorm room in North Carolina, watching the Beijing Olympics on TV, when she had a sudden realization.Thats when I saw BMX and thought `Ive raced all those girls before, I can do this, she told The Associated Press during a recent visit to Thailand. From there, that was when the path came back to BMX and to the Olympics.Carr joined the U.S. national team training program and, with her years of top-level experience and elite fitness standards, she had a strong chance at qualifying for London. Final selection came down to performances at the world championships in Birmingham, England.I really did have a fighting shot, Carr recalled. In the quarterfinals the top four would transfer on to the semifinals. I was top four going into the first turn, and the first person fell. One person lost a little bit of control, and it caused us to domino.After years of preparation, her London Olympic dream was over because of a collision in which she was blameless.It is ruthless, and thats what a lot of us love and hate about it at the same time, Carr said. Growing up, we just understood thats what the sport entails. You just have to roll with the punches.It was a mature response, but reflects a sense of perspective that she developed after witnessing the family home burn down in 2007.We lost everything in the fire, I lost trophies, Carr said. We were very lucky to walk away from the fire. I was only 17, so I didnt process it like my parents did because I didnt go through the financial sacrifices of building it. But I have learnt all the material things can be replaced but family things cant be replaced.So despite the disappointment of missing the 2012 Olympics, she wasnt surprised when the same competition presented her with an alternative direction.I saw a gentleman sitting there -- the Thai national coach, she said. Under Thaai culture, if you see another Thai you walk up and politely say hello.ddddddddddddHe looked at me and said `Youre half Thai? You should consider racing for Thailand.Within months, she followed up the offer.Switching allegiance was a pragmatic decision for Carr. Olympic berths are allocated on the basis of countrys ranking points, not those of individuals. Rather than face the intense competition for the spots reserved for the U.S., she had a much easier path and less competition under the Thai flag.I have no hard feelings toward the U.S. team, Carr said. My chances of making the U.S. team for 2016 were still very high, but I knew I would have a better chance of making the Olympics if I competed for Thailand.It was no flag of convenience, though. Carr has strong connections to Southeast Asia.He mother Lamoon is from Udon Thani, in northeast Thailand near the Laos border. It was there Lamoon met Amandas father, Darol, who was stationed at the U.S. Air Force base during the Vietnam War.Lamoon moved to Florida at age 26 and was 39 when Amanda was born.Regular visits home with her daughter followed. And Carr, since officially becoming a Thai athlete, now visits two or three times a year and has become fluent in the language. Her affection for the country and its people is more than reciprocated, especially since the Asian Games.That was a very cool moment, Carr said. I won the race, but didnt understand the magnitude of it until I watched my Facebook jump by the thousands, and thats when I thought `this is a really big deal.Flying back to Thailand, walking through the airport, we came out and there was an orchid arch, and we met the minister for the airport and there was all this media. I was like `Ok, that was really important for the country.The switch of allegiance to Thailand, she insists, was no snub to the U.S. program or people.The U.S. girls, I see them almost more than I see my own family because Im on the U.S. circuit, Carr said. Now I show up at a race and its like `Whats up, whats up, fist bump, lets roll. Before it was like `Oh God, Ive got to do better than her because that determines funding for the next race. Now we can just enjoy racing each other.That camaraderie will be tested in Rio, with the frantic nature of BMX competition creating a very level field.Of all the girls at this Olympic Games, there is not one without a chance, Carr said. Being an extreme sport, anything can happen. Id love to be in the final, and once Im in the final, Ill let it all hang and roll with it.Its obvious to say `Ill go for gold, but the realistic and honest answer for me is to be in the final, enjoy it, and keep Thailand proud. White NFL Jerseys CheapDisocunt Football JerseysWholesale NFL White JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysCheap Jerseys 2020Wholesale Throwback JerseysCheap NFL T-shirts ' ' '
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