BATON ROUGE, La. -- Publicly, LSU running back Leonard Fournette has been largely silent about the perceived score he and the No. 15 Tigers have to settle with top-ranked Alabama.The Tigers powerful and explosive star running back -- who scored three touchdowns of 59 yards or longer in his previous game -- was nowhere to be seen during designated times for media interviews this week. But when the cameras and microphones were gone, Fournette apparently had plenty to say to his teammates about facing a Crimson Tide squad that last year held him to a mere 31 yards on 19 carries while defeating the Tigers for a fifth-straight time .Hes probably the most motivated guy on the team, LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron said this week. He has spoken to the team and will speak to the team again. His want-to to have success against Alabama is as high as any other player Ive seen.The Tigers confidence is surging as they aim to end their skid against their century-old nemesis from two states away on Saturday night in Death Valley. LSU (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight -- each by 17 or more points -- since Orgeron took over for Les Miles in late September.This is obviously one of the biggest games of the year -- always is, Alabama coach Nick Saban said, adding the LSU is probably as good a team as weve played all year, especially the way theyre playing now.Regardless of how the Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0) ruined Fournettes Heisman Trophy candidacy by bottling him up in Tuscaloosa last year, Saban asserted that LSUs 6-foot-1, 235-pound junior is probably one of the most dynamic running backs that has played in college football for a while -- and is playing extremely well right now.Thats one reason why Tigers tight end Colin Jeter foreshadows the latest edition of Alabama-LSU this way: Its going to be a juggernaut battle and basically a street-fight game.Here are some of the main story lines heading to the 81st meeting of the Crimson Tide and Tigers since 1895:DOMINANT DEFENSESAlabamas defense is ranked fourth nationally in yards allowed (274.5 per game). The Tide has forced 16 turnovers in eight games -- eight fumble recoveries and eight interceptions -- and made 64 tackles for losses with 32 sacks.Orgeron said Alabama fields obviously the best defense weve seen -- might be one of the best defenses in college football history.LSU allowed just eight TDs this season, and no more than two in a single game. Saban expressed admiration for how first-year LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has harnessed his talent.Everybody doing their job and being sound and disciplined in what they do is what makes then really good, because they have really good players, Saban said. LSU is a really, really quality defensive team.HURTS ON ROAD: Tide freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts has had some mistakes in previous road games but bounced back strong. Now, he enters earth-trembling-loud Death Valley for the first time. Hurts has accounted for eight touchdowns rushing and passing in three SEC road games, while topping 100 rushing yards twice.FORMIDABLE FOURNETTE: Because of a nagging left ankle injury, Fournette has played only once since Orgeron took over. That was in LSU previous game two weeks ago against Ole Miss, when Fournette vaulted himself back into Heisman consideration by setting and LSU single-game rushing record with 284 yards. He did so on just 16 carries, averaging 17.8 yards per carry.Hes just a genetic freak and certainly great to have him on your team, Jeter said. He brings that power to the game and brings confidence to all of us.REPLACING JACKSON: This is Alabamas first game since safety/punt returner Eddie Jackson was lost for the season to a broken leg. Cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick has been working at the safety spot, though Saban hasnt publicly declared him the fill-in starter. Xavian Marks has returned a punt for a touchdown while freshman Trevon Diggs and Calvin Ridley have both taken turns fielding punts. Jackson had already scored on two punt returns and an interception return.SABANS RETURN: Having won a national title at LSU in the 2003 season, Sabans return to Baton Rouge as a rival coach has become a major component to this rivalry. Since leaving the NFL for `Bama in 2007, Saban is 7-3 vs. LSU, with the Tigers winning in 2007, 2010 and 2011.---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org---AP Sports Writer John Zenor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama contributed to this report. Wholesale Basketball . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Basketball Jerseys China . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. http://www.cheapjerseysnbaoutlet.com/ . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- If you enjoyed weightlifting at the 2012 Olympics, you might be confused about where your favorites have gone.The reigning gold, silver and bronze medalists werent around Friday for the womens 75-kilogram class because theyre all suspended. Spains Lidia Valentin Perez was fourth in London in 2012, but is now waiting to see whether shell be upgraded to top spot.While Valentin Perez said she didnt want to talk about the doping threat to her sport after winning bronze Friday at her second Olympics, she has been vocal on social media.For a clean sport with values, reads a message she posted to Instagram shortly before the games, accompanied by the Olympic rings. Because when an athlete is doping they stop being an athlete, and this stops being a sport.Indeed, weightlifting has been so ravaged by doping cases that many events are almost unrecognizable from just four years ago. Out of 45 medalists from London, 12 have so far failed retests of their Olympic doping samples, with others banned at events like the world championships.Thursdays winner Rim Jong Sim comes from the secretive and tightly state-controlled North Korean sports system, which has produced numerous doping cases across many sports and currently has five top lifters serving bans.Rim was utterly dominant, lifting 121 kilograms in the snatch and 153 in the clean and jerk for a total of 274, way ahead of the 258 managed by Belarusian silver medalist Darya Naumava, or 257 for Valentin Perez.When I saw that I secured the first place in the competition, the first thing I thought was that I made beloved Great Leader KKim Jong-Un happy and I just want to see him as soon as possible, she said through an interpreter.dddddddddddd As for my family, I just meet them again once Im in North Korea, so I have nothing special to say.In her spare time, Rim said she listens to patriotic music about North Koreas leaders.North Korea won four gold medals in London four years ago but has started slowly in Rio, with only two silver and two bronze medals before Rims win.Rim was gold medalist in the 69kg class four years ago and said a hard training schedule and advanced sports medicine had helped her overcome injury to win again despite moving up a class.There was also a shadow over the silver for Naumava because the International Weightlifting Federation had tried to ban the entire Belarus team from Rio over repeated doping test failures, but was stymied because the paperwork on those cases was not completed in time by the International Olympic Committee.Throughout the Olympics, weightlifters finishing behind athletes from countries they consider suspect have suggested they could be upgraded when drug test results come back, or expressed suspicion about rapid improvements by athletes with a checkered past. At the top end of the sport, denunciations of drug cheats are comparatively rare, though Valentin Perez is changing that.Commenting on yet another round of failed tests earlier this summer, the Spanish lifter let her frustration show on social media. Say NO doping, she wrote. STOP DOPING! cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '