Washington, D. Chauncey Billups Jersey .C. (SportsNetwork.com) - Sporting Kansas City will head to RFK Stadium on Friday to meet D.C. United in a crucial Eastern Conference clash. D.C. enters the weekend atop the East with 51 points from 30 games, six points better than Sporting. United needs only a point from Fridays match to seal a postseason berth, but it can also clinch with a win or draw from the Los Angeles Galaxy in their meeting with Toronto FC on Saturday. K.C. is doing well to keep pressure on us, New England is coming hard and fast. We want the No. 1 spot and were going to keep pushing for it, said DCU goalkeeper Bill Hamid. Now the goal is to get as many points as possible, even if we go on the road - we have to get one point, we have to lock it down. We want to keep climbing the ladder so we can clinch that No. 1 spot. United has won each of its last five league contests on home soil, most recently easing past the Philadelphia Union in a 1-0 victory. But even with a sustained run of good form, DCU head coach Ben Olsen sees room for improvement. At times I still think we can manage the game a little better, said Olsen. Its a good and bad thing at times - we have guys that are just so hungry and can score goals and have the ability to do it and it becomes a little bit of a back and forth. But I cant say enough about a group in general, the way theyve handled the last two months. Sporting, meanwhile, has managed just one league win from its last six outings. Things appeared to be heading in the right direction after a 4-0 demolition of Chivas USA on Sept. 12, but SKC was unable to keep it going as the club stumbled in a 3-2 home loss to the New England Revolution last time out. According to Peter Vermes, the club has simply not gotten the rub of the green in terms of the final results. But the SKC head coach believes that there is reason for optimism as the postseason nears. I dont think Ive ever said this to them before, but I said if you play the way you play tonight - if we put the goals aside - its not that youre going to be competitive in this league, but youre going to win a lot and youre going to win often, Vermes said after the loss to New England. Its extremely painful for the guys to walk out of here with nothing, but when you look at the long term and play three games in nine days with the intensity that we played with, its a good sign for the future. Not only will Sporting be out to inch closer to the playoffs on Friday, but the club will also be looking to avenge some poor results against D.C. from earlier this season. United won both of the regular season meetings between the two sides this season, defeating Kansas City, 1-0, at RFK on May 31 before cruising to a shock 3-0 victory at Sporting Park on Aug. 23. Joe Smith Jersey . "Ive still got it," Seattles ace said with a sly grin. Riding that fastball carrying a little more zip, Hernandez took a shutout bid into the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night. On the verge of a brilliant shutout and first complete game since Aug. Ben Wallace Jersey . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal. http://www.basketballpistonsauthority.com/mateen-cleaves-pistons-jersey-c-27/ . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers played just well enough to beat an inferior opponent, which has been the way most of their five-game win streak has gone. David West scored 25 points, Paul George added 22, and the Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 94-91 on Sunday night. Indianapolis native Gordon Hayward had 21 points and Derrick Favors scored 17 for the Jazz, nine of them in the first eight minutes as Utah opened a 14-4 lead. A dunk from Favors cut the Pacers lead to 89-86 with a minute left to play, and West missed a jumper to give Utah a chance to tie with 35 seconds remaining. Hayward cut the Indiana lead to one, but Lance Stephenson sank two free throws to seal the win. "This was a mental toughness win," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I thought we played with extraordinary effort for four quarters." The Jazz made things interesting in the games fourth period thanks to Hayward, who had 10 of his 21 points in the final 15 minutes. His final five points came in the final minutes. Ian Mahinmi came off the bench to score nine points for the Pacers and provide key minutes, as Roy Hibbert struggled to contain Favors. Utah came out of halftime to score eight unanswered points and force Indiana to call an early timeout. The Pacers retook the lead when Mahinmi was fouled on a layup. Mahinmi made the free throw to put Indiana up 60-58. "Ive pretty solid on defence all season long," Mahinmi said. "My shot blocking has been up. My timing is good." CJ Watson, starting for the injured George Hill, scored 13 points for the Pacers. Hill sat out his second straight game with a bruised shoulder. After coming off the bench to score 17 in a win over Boston a night earlier, Evan Turner struggled in his reserve role. Henry Ellenson Jersey. Turner, acquired from Philadelphia on Feb. 20, scored eight points and shot 2 of 9 in 20 minutes. But the Pacers got a boost from Mahinmi and Watson to pull out another win against an opponent they might have easily beaten earlier in the season. After two close tilts against Milwaukee and a come-from-behind victory in Boston on Saturday night, Indiana survived a scare against one of the Wests worst teams. But all night long, Utah buckled under pressure from one of the NBAs best defensive teams. The Jazz finished with 18 turnovers, which led to 24 points for Indiana. George went down hard after being fouled on a drive to the basket late in the third quarter. George slammed to the floor and appeared to hit his head, but remained in the game to sink both free throws. Hayward rebounded from a slow start to put together one of his best games since January. In his fourth time playing in his native city, he shot 8 of 15 from the field after being held scoreless until the beginning of the second period. He scored seven straight points in the third quarter, keeping the Jazz in the game while the rest of the offence sputtered. "I thought I was quiet in the first half, but I was proud of the way we came back and fought against a team with a real good record, especially here at home," Hayward said. Hayward, who led Butler to an NCAA championship game appearance in 2010, averaged 12.2 points on 34.1 shooting in 12 games in February. He came into the game having scored only 21 points in four games in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Kings Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Team USA Basketball Jerseys ' ' '