takes a special effort to get ones self onto this

While the Washington Wizards couldnt lure Kevin Durant back home, they checked several boxes on their offseason game plan.According to owner Ted Leonsis, the team went into the summer looking to lock up star guard Bradley Beal to a long-term contract; add another player on a max deal; sign a defensive-oriented big man; add skill and scoring at power forward; improve depth in the backcourt; and sign a draft pick playing overseas. Leonsis also said the team wanted to get bigger and younger.All of that happened except for the max deal, leading Leonsis to call this a very productive offseason.Most importantly, the Wizards agreed on a $128 million, five-year contract with Beal. They also signed big men Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith, traded for guard Trey Burke, and inked 2012 second-round pick Tomas Satoransky to a three-year deal.Add those players to the core of John Wall, Beal, deadline pickup Markieff Morris, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat and the Wizards are deeper than they were last season, when they went 41-41 and missed the playoffs.With the additions of myself, Ian, Andrew Nicholson, Trey Burke, its looking like its going to be a great year for us, Smith said on a conference call Monday. You have a tested core of young guys that have been in the playoffs, that have played big minutes in the playoffs and have gone deep into the playoffs into the second round. Wed like to get back to that this year.Signing Durant, who grew up in the D.C. area, wouldve pushed the Wizards into instant contender status in the Eastern Conference. Instead, Durant joined the Golden State Warriors team that beat his Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.Durants former coach Scott Brooks has a challenge in piecing together this roster in Washington.Brooks said he likes the versatility on the roster created since general manager Ernie Grunfeld acquired Morris from Phoenix at the trade deadline, and continuing with the offseason acquisitions.We have a lot of important pieces that can move, and interchangeable parts, Brooks said last week after the Wizards summer league minicamp. Weve guys that can defend multiple positions. We want to be a defensive team that can score, not a scoring team that plays defense when it scores.The hallmark of a defensive team led the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Mahinmi, a strong rebounder and defender, to sign for four years and $64 million. The 29-year-old said he wanted to go to a team that plays hard defense and doesnt take nights off, and the Wizards fit that bill.Opportunity was a key for the 26-year-old Nicholson, who signed a $26 million, four-year contract, and 30-year-old Smith, who got a $16 million, three-year deal to be a reserve forward/center. Brooks presence is a nice incentive for Burke, acquired from the Utah Jazz for a 2021 second-round pick, given that he coached Russell Westbrook into stardom in Oklahoma City.Its the opportunity of a lifetime, the 23-year-old Burke said on a conference call Friday. I hear that he always brings potential out of young players. He pushes them. Hes looking for a competitive player with a chip on his shoulder, and I think he has a chip on his shoulder as well. Hes a great coach, so I definitely think we can relate to each other.The Wizards are a team with a collective chip on the shoulder after a disappointing 2015-16 season that led to the firing of coach Randy Wittman. The organization let 33-year-old Nene, 30-year-old Garrett Temple and 31-year-old Jared Dudley walk in free agency, replacing them with younger pieces. Washington hopes for a bigger contribution from swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. in his second NBA season.Adding Mahinmi, Nicholson, Burke, Smith and Satoransky isnt a Durant-esque splash, but Leonsis said on his website that the Wizards executed according to plan in their goal of returning to the playoffs.We entered free agency prepared to execute the plan that we conceived, developed and refined during a three-year period, and based on an anticipation of where the NBA salary cap might land, Leonsis said. While we came close, we werent able to land an additional star player to our lineup. So we then moved swiftly and smartly to execute the remaining parts of our plan and add to our returning core. Cheap Puma Shoes Sale . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Puma Shoes Wholesale China . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. http://www.cheappuma.net/ . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. Puma Shoes Sale Online . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Cheap Puma Shoes Wholesale . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. The Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:I cant quit you baby So Im gonna put you down for awhile I said I cant quit you baby I guess I gotta put you down for awhile Said you messed up my happy home Made me mistreat my only child Yes sir you did!-- I Cant Quit You Baby, Led ZeppelinIts no secret that this season, we here at Bottom 10 HQ, located in an old Winnebago parked behind the humidor where Tom Rinaldi keeps his neckties, have been embroiled in a bit of a spat with UMass football fans. Yes, they exist. And yes, they have been angrier at me than Tom Brady when his bottle of hair mousse runs dry.Yes, I was watching back in Week 1 when the Minutemen hung with Florida in The Swamp. Yes, I was watching Saturday when they hung with Mississippi State in Foxborough, or Foxboro, or however you spell it. But yes, I was also watching when they were stomped by Boston College. And yes, I was also watching when they wrestled with FI(not A)U for their lone win of the season.Within minutes of the loss to Mississippi State, the stream of angry emails and tweets from the commonwealth had already started. My measured response was to rank them again, just to throw a rotten onion into their DAngelos order. But then I heard from Alex Sterzin, who asked politely, Did my beloved UMass (it is an unhealthy and abusive relationship to be fair) do enough to get out of the bottom 10? I responded that I didnt know and that I was struggling with what to do but that I appreciated his loyalty. And I did. I still do. Then he responded with a comment that crystallizes the Bottom 10 experience.?You see, the Bottom 10 isnt merely a list. Its a mindset. Its an obsession. Its an academic exercise. Like watching a group of people through two-way glass as they suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. Which side of the glass are the Minutemen on this week? Load your muskets and read ahead.With apologies to King Leonidas and Steve Harvey, heres this weeks Bottom 10.1. FI(not A)U (0-4) Its rare to see a team play in two Pillow Fights of the Week of the Year in the first five weeks of the season, but thats what will happen when FI(not A)U hosts FA(not I)U this weekend in the Shula Bowl, aka Pillow Fight of the Week of the Year IV (PFOWY4). Then again, its also rare to see a team fire its head coach four weeks into the season, as the Golden Panthers did on Sunday. So, if anyone ever asks you what FIU and LSU have in common, theres your answer. Oh, and humidity.2. Rice (0-4) Rice blew a 17-0 lead and lost in a double-overtime thriller to North Texas Forty. The Owls and North Texas Forty have put tthe rest of the Bottom 10 on notice.dddddddddddd Their game on Saturday wasnt merely the Pillow Fight of the Week of the Year 3 (PFOWY3). It might very well have been Pillow Fight of the Week of the Year of the Year thus far this year.3. NI ... Whew (0-4) Losing a tough one to Wyoming in the opener? Thats cool. Losing on the road to South Florida? Totally understandable. Losing to San Diego State at home? OK, thats kinda weird. Losing to Western Illinois at home? Welcome to the Bottom 10!4. Arkansas State (0-4) Losing to Toledo in the opener? No sweat. Losing to Auburn on The Plains? Hey, even LSU did that. Losing to Utah State on the road? Hey, even Boise State has done that. Losing to Central Arkansas to give the Bears their first-ever win over an FBS school? Welcome to the Bottom 10!5. Notre Dame (1-3) Losing to Texas on the road? No shame in that. Losing a heartbreaker to Michigan State? Hey, welcome to the club. Losing to a 1-2 Duke team with no quarterback in the House that Knute Rockne Built? Welcome to the Coveted Fifth Spot!6. Charlotte 1-and-3ers (1-3) Losing to Louisville by 56? Hey, who hasnt? Am I right, Florida State? Beating Elon? Great effort. Getting housed by Eastern Michigan? Well, um ... losing to Temple by four touchdowns? OK, I have to stop this repetitive premise thing. This is starting to feel like Im stuck in one of those Saw movies.7. San José State?(1-3) It takes a special effort to get ones self onto this list and to get Iowa State off this list all at once.8. State of Kent (1-3) Nick Saban defeating Kent State 48-0 was the worst treatment of ones alma mater since a group of Alabama boosters walked into a conference room and said, We should hire Mike Price.9. Bowling Green (1-3) The Falcons started the season losing 77-10 to Ohio State and just lost 77-3 to Memphis. Surgeon generals warning: Giving up 77 more than once can lead to one ordering 7 and 7s more than once.10. New Mexico State?(1-3) Its always tough to lose. Its always tough to lose your Sun Belt conference opener. But a loss for a program like New Mexico State always stings a little more when its against a classic regional rival like Troy.Waiting list: FA(not I)U (1-3), My-Hammy of Ohio (0-4), Georgia State Not Southern (0-3), Huh-why-yuh (1-2), North Texas Forty (1-2), Kansas Nayhawks (1-2), USC (1-3), I-ow!-A State (1-3), Virginiugh (1-3), incorrect targeting calls, people who always whine about targeting calls even when theyre right ' ' '