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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Manti Teo got a call from Dick Butkus on Monday morning, letting him know he was voted the nations best linebacker. A few hours later, the Notre Dame star accepted the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nations top defensive player. Oh yeah, he also picked up a trip to New York as one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Not a bad day at all. The energetic senior from Hawaii helped put Notre Dame back in the spotlight this season, leading the top-ranked Fighting Irish to an unbeaten regular season and a date with Alabama in the BCS championship game Jan. 7. Teo says being mentioned along with former Nagurski winners such as Charles Woodson, Terrell Suggs, Warren Sapp and Champ Bailey is "something very special to me." Teo led the nations top-ranked defence with 103 tackles and seven interceptions. He beat out four other finalists: South Carolina end Jadeveon Clowney, Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones, Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner and Florida State end Bjoern Werner. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was on hand as the events keynote speaker at a downtown Charlotte hotel Monday night and said its impossible to describe what Teo has meant to the program. "It takes time to move from not being part of the national championship discussion for over 20 years to be right at the point of being able to be a national champion," Kelly said. "You need somebody that can galvanize the team and somebody to get them to believe that they can do it. His actions, the way he played and the way he led did incredible things for our football program." Teo said this will be a season hell never forget, but first hed like to see the Fighting Irish get one more win. "Its something that you dream of when youre a little kid," Teo said. "You never think it could happen, then it finally hits you in the face and its a dream come true." When asked what hed rather win -- a national championship or the Nagurski Award -- Teo smiled and laughed as if its the easiest question hes ever answered. "Hey, all these awards are great, but football is a team sport," he said. "If you ask people who the Butkus Award or the Bednarik Award winners are, or even the Heisman Trophy winner some years, they probably dont remember them. But they remember who won the national championship. They remember that. Thats the trophy everybody wants." Teo said hes anxious for the BCS title game, although its still a month away. As for the 45-day layoff, he doesnt believe it will be a factor once the game begins. "It can be good or bad, depending on the player and team," Teo said. "It depends on how badly you want it. You can approach those 45 days as a pro. But if you just want to be in the national championship game and thats enough, youre obviously in trouble. Alabama has obviously been there a lot recently. Youve got to act like youve been there, even if we havent." Kelly said he doesnt see the Fighting Irish losing focus as long as Teo is in the locker room leading the way. "Hes a great student and hes really been a role model for everybody in our program," Kelly said. "When you put all of those things together hes more than just a football player and Im blessed that I had an opportunity to coach him." Wholesale Jerseys USA . Numbers Game breaks down the Canucks signing hometown boy Jason Garrison. The Canucks Get: D Jason Garrison. Garrison, 27, has played 190 career NHL games, but really came into his own this past season, scoring a career-high 16 goals, 33 points and a plus-6 rating while playing a career-high 23:42 per game. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap . Nobody. Today, nobody, not even Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek, can imagine the national team without him. http://www.unityvirtual.net/hot.html . The two sides held a cordial meeting for more than two hours in another round of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires on Sept. MILAN, Italy -- Juventus provisionally extended its Serie A lead by beating 10-man Torino 3-0 in the Turin derby on Saturday. Claudio Marchisio, who was born in Turin, scored twice either side of Sebastian Giovincos strike to prolong Torinos dismal derby record. Torino played more than 50 minutes at a numerical disadvantage after Kamil Glik was sent off following an horrific challenge with the score still 0-0. Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo blazed a penalty over the bar at the end of the first half. Juventus is now five points ahead of Napoli, which hosts last-place Pescara on Sunday. The result will serve as a timely boost ahead of Juventus key Champions League match at Shakhtar Donetsk. It is also the final Serie A match of a four-month ban for Juventus head coach Antonio Conte, inflicted for failing to report match-fixing when he led Siena two seasons ago. The Turin derby hasnt been played since March 2009, when Juventus won 1-0. The match is known locally as the "Derby della Mole," after the Mole Antonelliana, a landmark building in Turin. Torino hasnt scored against Juve since February 2002 and hasnt won the derby since April 1995. There was controversy in the 25th minute when Jean-Francois Gillet spilled a cross by Paolo De Ceglie and the referee blew for a foul on the Torino goalkeeper by Paul Pogba.dddddddddddd However, replays show it was Angelo Ogbonna who clattered into his teammate while Pogba hadnt touched Gillet. Pogba should have scored just after the half-hour mark, but Gillet parried his first effort and then did well to push another powerful shot over the crossbar. The game changed in the 36th minute when Torino defender Kamil Glik was shown a straight red card following an awful two-footed tackle on Emanuele Giaccherini. Juventus was awarded a penalty when Migjen Basha handled the ball but Pirlo, a set-piece specialist, made a rare mistake from the spot, blazing well over. Pogba missed an incredible chance shortly after the break, heading over from a couple of meters out. Juventus finally broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with a diving header from Marchisio following Giovincos cross. Marchisio then turned provider 10 minutes later, crossing for Giovinco to fire a diagonal shot into the bottom left corner. Juventus sealed the match six minutes from time as Mirko Vucinic chested Alessandro Matris cross back to Marchisio, who fired home. ' ' '