MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Los Angeles Clippers are concentrating on developing a better defensive identity.On Friday night, they made life rather miserable for the Memphis Grizzlies.The Clippers caused 19 turnovers -- 17 on steals -- and forced Memphis into 37 percent shooting before holding off a late Grizzlies push for a 99-88 victory.Our defense is something, right now, that we can hang our hat on, said Chris Paul, who had 27 points and 11 assists for the Clippers.The offense, we have to find it, said Paul, who also had six steals. Wed love to have everything clicking, but Im just happy that our defense is pretty good.Blake Griffin added 14 points and 10 rebounds. J.J. Redick scored 12 points for Los Angeles while DeAndre Jordan grabbed 21 rebounds.The Grizzlies chipped into a Clippers lead that reached 21 points in the third quarter, scoring nine straight points in the fourth. Memphis eventually pulled within 93-86 with less than a minute left, but got no closer.We just got messy, Paul said of the Memphis rally. We didnt take care of the ball.Mike Conley led Memphis with 30 points and 10 assists, while Marc Gasol added 21 points and nine rebounds. Whether it was the Los Angeles defense or poor execution by Memphis, the Grizzlies never really seemed to keep pace with the Clippers.The Grizzlies only salvation was scoring 31 points in the final quarter, connecting on 10 of 18 shots, Conley hitting two 3-pointers.We need to be where theyre at, and were not, said Memphis forward Zach Randolph, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. We have a lot of work to do. Tonight, they were the better team, and I give them credit.TIP-INSClippers: Los Angeles started the game connecting on its first six shots. ... Los Angeles converted the 19 Memphis miscues into 30 points. . The Clippers bench, which averages 40 points a game, had 22 through three quarters before ending the game with 36.Grizzlies: Memphis coach David Fizdale, who was upset with officials through much of the first half, drew his first technical as a head coach with 3:57 left in the second quarter. Rookie official CJ Washington did the honors. ... Gasol, who was only 3 of 18 from the field in Wednesdays win over New Orleans, started 1 of 11 Friday. ... Memphis lost its first home game of the season.HELPING HANDPaul became the Clippers franchise leader in assists early in the second half, passing Randy Smith, who had 3,498 in his Clippers career. Asked about the milestone, Paul initially said: Its cool, then added of the assists: Ive got the easy job. All I have to do is pass it to somebody. Theyre the ones that have to make the shot.HELLO OLD FRIENDIncluding the postseason, the Grizzlies and Clippers have played 31 times since the start of the 2011-12 season, the most of any Memphis opponent over that span.BAD BOYS, BAD BOYSEntering Fridays game, the teams had been assessed 32 technical fouls over the last 20 games. Griffin has six, while Paul has four and Jordan three. Randolph leads the Grizzlies in techs over that span with three. Fizdale was the only one to draw a technical Friday.UP NEXTClippers: Travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs in the second game of a road back-to-back.Grizzlies: Face the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday in the third game of a four-game home stand Authentic Custom Marlins Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Custom Marlins T-shirts . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. http://www.custommarlinsjersey.com/custom-jose-fernandez-jersey-large-100o.html . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Custom Andre Dawson Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Custom Marlins Jersey China . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. SOCCERNEW YORK -- In a sign of just how much American soccer has grown up, U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann was fired after a pair of losses in the final round World Cup qualifying.Six days after a 4-0 loss at Costa Rica dropped the Americans to 0-2, Klinsmann was terminated following nearly 5 1/2 years during a meeting at a Los Angeles hotel with U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati and Secretary General Dan Flynn.Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena is the favorite to succeed Klinsmann, and his hiring could be announced as early as Tuesday. Arena coached the national team from 1998 to 2006.A former star forward for Germany who has lived mostly in Orange County with his American wife since his retirement as a player in 1998, Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley in July 2011. He led the team to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium in extra time.OLYMPICSLAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Yulia Zaripova, the Russian gold medalist in the womens 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 London Olympics, was among 12 more athletes sanctioned after testing positive in a reanalysis of their doping samples.Zaripova was among seven medalists -- all from countries of the former Soviet Union -- disqualified retroactively from the London Games after their stored samples were retested with improved techniques and came back positive for banned substances.Also sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee were nine weightlifters, a hammer thrower and a long jumper.Zaripova tested positive for the steroid turinabol on a urine sample she provided after winning the steeplechase final on Aug. 6, 2012, the IOC said.COLLEGE FOOTBALLAUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong wants to stay at Texas and predicts a Longhorns national title in the near future. The question swirling around the program is whether he will still be around by the weekend.With dozens of his players attending Strongs weekly news conference, the coach addressed multiple reports that hell be fired by saying school President Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin have promised that he will be evaluated after the regular season ends with Fridays game against TCU.Strong said he has to believe their word and that no decision on his future has yet been made.Next year, I want to come back, Strong said. They said we will be evaluated after that game. I dont know how they will be thinking, but winning that game would help.Perrin, who did not attend the news conference, on Sunday called reports that Strongs future had already been decided rumors.PRO FOOTBALLTEMPE, Ariz. -- With his team in the midst of a highly disappointing season, Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was in the hospital after feeling ill overnight, the team said.The Cardinals issued a statement saying the 64-year-old coach was not feeling well Sunday night after returning home from Arizonas game in Minnesota and his wife took him to the hospital.The Cardinals said via Twitter on Monday night that Arians has been released from the hospital.Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said he spoke to Arians when the coach still was in tthe hospital, saying he is resting comfortably.ddddddddddddBOSTON -- A former NFL player and his business partner have pleaded guilty in Boston to running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans to professional athletes.Prosecutors say former New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots cornerback Will Allen and partner Susan Daub pleaded guilty to federal fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges in federal court in Boston.Daub lives in Coral Spring, Florida, and pleaded guilty. Allen lives in Davie, Florida, and pleaded guilty last week.Prosecutors say they got money from investors by saying they were making high-interest loans to professional athletes. In some cases, the loans were for less than they claimed or were non-existent.Prosecutors say they took in more than $35 million and repaid less than $22 million.PRO BASKETBALLSANTA ANA, Calif. -- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has been charged with hit-and-run for a wrong-way-related crash on a Southern California freeway.Orange County prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges against Rodman for a July 20 accident on Interstate 5 in Santa Ana.Prosecutors say Rodmans SUV was traveling north in a southbound carpool lane around 12:30 a.m., forcing a sedan to swerve into a dividing wall to avoid a collision.Rodmans attorney, Paul Meyer, says the incident occurred on a poorly signed exit ramp. He says Rodman corrected the driving error without the cars touching, stopped and spoke to people in the other car.Rodmans also charged with driving across a dividing section and without a valid license, and giving police false information.He could face two years in county jail if convicted.GYMNASTICSMASON, Mich. -- A former USA Gymnastics team doctor was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Michigan involving a child under 13.Three charges were filed against Dr. Larry Nassar according to online court records in Ingham County. The alleged incidents occurred in 1998. The records dont indicate whether the charges involve one victim or more.Nassar was arrested and lodged in the county jail. Its unclear when hell appear in court. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney.Nassar, 53, has been under scrutiny this year after two gymnasts, including a member of the 2000 U.S. womens Olympic team, accused him of sexual abuse.PRO HOCKEYNEW YORK -- The NHL is taking steps to avoid another John Scott situation at the All-Star Game.The league announced new fan voting rules that disqualify players from being named All-Star captains if theyre injured or sent to the American Hockey League. Scott, a journeyman enforcer, was voted in by fans last year when he was with the Arizona Coyotes and still served as the Pacific Division captain despite being traded to the Montreal Canadiens and demoted to the AHL.Scott was the MVP of the 3-on-3 tournament that will be back for a second year, but the NHL didnt want a similar awkward situation to happen leading up to the 2017 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. ' ' '