e most difficult for the event final if he makes it that far.Call it a sign of maturity for an athlete who admits to putting too much pressure on himself to be perfect, something hes realized over the years is a futile pursuit. Now he searches for small moments of bliss during a given routine while tr

EL PASO, Texas -- Heavy hearts because of the death of a teammate haunt the Army Black Knights as they begin a three-game road trip trying to keep their season-opening win streak going.These are great kids, and they are remarkably resilient, coach Jeff Monken said. West Point does have a way of preparing all of its people to be able to persevere through tough times. I have no doubt that this team will persevere and prevail through this adversity.Army (2-0) meets UTEP (1-1) on Saturday night in the Sun Bowl with the sudden death of defensive back Brandon Jackson still fresh on the mind. The 20-year-old sophomore defensive back from Queens, New York, was killed in a single-car crash early last Sunday, hours after Army had defeated Rice in its home opener at Michie Stadium.When you lose somebody you love, it is tough. This is no exception, Monken said. Our guys are having a tough time and are reeling right now.This will be the first meeting between Army and UTEP, and Miners coach Sean Kugler knows it will be charged with emotion.I havent dealt with losing a player. I have dealt with a personal loss, Kugler said. Youve got to deal with it in your own way. I cant even come close to speak to how Army is going to deal with that.I know theyll rally around that guy and play their hearts out. In a situation like that, thats all you can do.The Miners, who are coming off a 41-7 loss at No. 11 Texas , will have quarterback Zack Greenlee back in the lineup. He missed the game against the Longhorns and was doubtful earlier in the week with a slight ligament tear in his left knee, a separated shoulder, and a broken finger on his throwing (right) hand. But Kugler said Thursday on his radio show that he expected Greenlee to start.A graduate transfer from Fresno State, Greenlee passed for 229 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the Miners season-opening win over New Mexico State.Other things of note when Army travels to UTEP on Saturday night:RUN RUN RUN: Armys triple option ranks fourth in the nation in rushing with an average of 338.5 yards. Andy Davidson leads the team with two straight 100-yard games.KEEPING UP WITH JONES: UTEP tailback Aaron Jones rushed for 249 yards on 31 carries against New Mexico State to open the season and had 123 yards on the ground and scored in last weeks loss at Texas.WHAT TURNOVERS? Plagued more often than not by turnovers, the Black Knights are in unfamiliar territory to start the season. Theyre fifth in the nation in turnover margin at a plus-2.5. Army already has four interceptions, just two less than it nabbed the entire 2015 season. The Black Knights finished 113th (-0.92) in turnover margin last year.ARMY ADVANTAGE? Army has been stationed in El Paso since the border with Mexico was established more than 160 years ago. According to the Texas State Historical Association, after the end of the Mexican War the U.S. needed to defend the new border and maintain law and order, so a military post was re-established on the Rio Grande in January 1854 when the Army rented quarters at a hacienda in El Paso. On March 8, 1854, the official name of the post became Fort Bliss, in memory of Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, Gen. Zachary Taylors chief of staff during the Mexican War and later his son-in-law.CONFIDENT CADETS: Despite the tragic death of Jackson, if Army enters the Sun Bowl displaying a good dose of swagger, itll be understandable. Before last weeks win over Rice, the Black Knights hadnt won two straight in a 70-game span and hadnt started a season 2-0 in two decades.Were going to face a 2-0 team that is very confident right now, Kugler said. They are playing energized football. Im sure that theyre thinking they can come down here and be 3-0.---AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon in Dallas contributed to this report.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Womens Jaguars Jerseys .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Will Richardson Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseys.net/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Authentic Jaguars Jerseys . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Cyber Monday Jaguars Jerseys . -- 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 . The most important 15 minutes of Sam Mikulaks daily routine doesnt come in the gym or the weight room. They usually take place early in the morning, shortly after he pulls himself out of bed at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.There in the stillness, the best American male gymnast of his generation turns his mind into a blank slate. Nothing is allowed in. Not worries about whether he can find a way to combine consistency with his considerable talent. Not concerns about the ankles that are always one iffy landing away from disaster. Not the stakes as he prepares himself for another Olympic moment, one with significantly higher stakes than four years ago in London.If a thought comes into my head, I recognize it and I do a mental swipe left with my eyes, Mikulak said. And then Im back to breathing and fall into a rhythm that can train me to negate any thoughts that arent necessary when Im competing on the big stage.Like the one that awaits in Brazil, when the 23-year-old spearheads a five-man U.S. team eager to re-establish itself after a nightmarish fifth-place finish in 2012. Back then, Mikulak was a teenager, a college student and an event specialist. Now hes likely the only American competing in the all-around, a testament to the way hes separated himself from his teammates.Yet for all his supremacy at home, where he is one of two men to win four straight national titles, Mikulak has yet to experience a true breakthrough moment internationally. He has just one world championship medal to his credit, a team bronze in 2014. That also happens to be the last time he was on the floor with Kohei Uchimura of Japan, the defending Olympic champion heavily favored to do it again in Rio de Janeiro.On the surface, they could not be more different. Uchimura is soft-spoken and reserved. Mikulak is prone to break into dance during a meet and speaks in a surfer dude cadence that betrays his Southern California roots.Yet their gymnastics are strikingly similar in their aggressive quest for elegance.I feel like Im following in his footsteps a little bit, Mikulak said. Hes one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Its nice to be on the same path. My goal is to apply a little pressure.The only surefire way to do it is to avoid the small but persistent mistakes that tend to pop up early in competitions. Mikulak is well aware of his penchant for shaky starts like the one he endured on the opening night of Olympic Trials on June 25, when he flubbed his dismount on parallel bars and lost momentum on high bar.Not that it mattered in the end. Mikulak finished with his typical flourish and ultimately wound up well clear of Chris Brooks following four rounds of Olympic qualifying that spanned trials and the national championships.Its where Mikulak expected to be all along. Still, he knows hes at the ttime in his career when simply being the best among his buddies is no longer enough.ddddddddddddThe mindset going into the Olympics is Im not a top dog in the international scene like I am in the U.S., he said. There is a gap I need to overcome.Going six for six -- meaning getting through each apparatus clean -- would be a start. Asked when the last time he put together a day like that, Mikulak points to the 2013 American Cup while simultaneously shaking his head in disbelief.Its been a while, he allowed. I need that sense of urgency that I crave at the end, I need that in the beginning.Nowhere do Mikulaks problems manifest themselves more than on high bar, gymnastics answer to a slam-dunk contest. Sitting nine feet off the floor, its an inviting canvas on which to paint. And when hes on, Mikulak can turn it into a thrill ride.The problem is, Mikulak isnt always on. At the 2014 world championships, coach Mark Williams benched Mikulak on high bar during the team final, opting for Jake Daltons more conservative -- and more dependable -- set.Its a decision Mikulak understood and why he comes to each meet now armed with three different high-bar routines, opting for the easiest during qualifying and saving the most difficult for the event final if he makes it that far.Call it a sign of maturity for an athlete who admits to putting too much pressure on himself to be perfect, something hes realized over the years is a futile pursuit. Now he searches for small moments of bliss during a given routine while trying to immediately hit delete when something doesnt go as planned.Thats where the meditation comes in, something he began incorporating while competing at Michigan. A psychology major, Mikulak found himself fascinated by the minds power to control the body not just by telling it what to do, but by telling it what not to do. Its gotten to the point where hes on autopilot the second he raises his hand to the judges.The breathing is what does it, he said. It blocks out anything that might tell you, `Oh tighten up. Or if theres a negative thought that will pop up when youre up there, the breathing will not let that thought come into your mind.So Mikulak zones out, his ears listening for the encouragement of his teammates but nothing else. Leave no doubt: They have his back. Theyd love nothing more than to see the guy who occasionally amazes during practice do the same thing for the whole world to see.He needs to go out there and handle that pressure, own the pressure and move on from there, good friend and Olympic alternate Donnell Whittenburg said. If he can hit, he can definitely give Uchimura a run.---Follow Will Graves at www.twitter.com/WillGravesAP Black China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online ' ' '