Reiseplan » last season, was the only center among the SECs

DENVER -- Von Miller is back to lead Denvers devastating defense. Still undetermined is who will direct the Broncos revamped offense.Journeyman Mark Sanchez, rookie Paxton Lynch and the unheralded Trevor Siemian are in the mix at quarterback for the Broncos, who lost Brock Osweiler to free agency 48 hours after Peyton Mannings misty-eyed retirement.No team has successfully defended its Super Bowl title since the 2004 New England Patriots. The Broncos are the first team since the 2001 Baltimore Ravens to try to go back to back after losing its top two QBs.After losing the bidding duel with Houston for Osweiler, GM John Elway acquired Sanchez from the Eagles and outmaneuvered Jerry Jones to select Lynch out of Memphis in the first round of the draft.Yet, it was Siemian, the 2015 seventh-rounder with just one snap on his resume, who looked the sharpest in Denvers drama-filled offseason, putting him in prime position to upset Sanchez for the starting job.I think theyre looking each other right in the eye throughout the whole course of the offseason as far who is ahead and who is one or two, coach Gary Kubiak said.I think those two guys are right there with each other. I think its a very competitive situation. Theyre obviously ahead of our young guy just from a mental standpoint right now.Ideally, Lynch would sit a season as he adjusts to the NFL after running the spread offense in college.Both Sanchez and Siemian took the briefest of summer vacations before returning to Denver to continue their quest to take over an offense that features just four returning starters.The defense lost Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan to free agency, but returns most members of the one of the best defenses in NFL history. His defense is so devastating that Kubiak wont have to wait for the preseason games to see which of his quarterbacks is his guy.Kubiak said hell ratchet up the pressure -- easier with Miller back in uniform -- and run plenty of no-huddle over the first couple of weeks of training camp to see wholl win the job.Other things to pay attention to as the Broncos defend their title:MILLERS MILLIONS: Miller predicted peaceful contract negotiations 12 hours after spearheading Denvers 24-10 win over Carolina in the Super Bowl. Although things got testy at times and Elway refused to let Millers camp seek a trade, the sides got a deal done that they believe is a win-win. Miller gets $70 million guaranteed and Elway gets several more seasons out of the man hes called the best player on the planet. After spending more time on the dance floor than the football field over the past six months, the Broncos need Miller to be the same demolition man he was in the playoffs.MILLERS MINIONS: Two big question marks still face Denvers defense: DeMarcus Wares balky back and Aqib Talibs wounded right leg. Ware didnt participate in a single snap in the offseason as his bad back that limited him to 11 games last season acted up again. Talib said he feels fine and is full-go after recovering from a gunshot wound to his right thigh and calf last month in a shooting in Dallas. Even if he returns to his superstar level, Talib, whos had firearm incidents in the past, could face legal consequences and punishment from the NFL.NEW O-LINE: The Broncos won it all behind a patchwork offensive line that was dissembled not long after the victory parade attended by more than a million fans. Elway jettisoned right guard Louis Vasquez and let left tackle Ryan Harris and left guard Evan Mathis sign elsewhere. With Max Garcia moving to left guard and Michael Schofield to swing tackle behind free agent acquisitions Russell Okung and Donald Stephenson, only center Matt Paradis returns at his 2015 position.NEW OFFENSE: The Broncos ditched their hybrid offense when Manning retired. Expect more two tight end sets and heavy doses of hand offs to C.J. Anderson and rookie Devontae Booker, who will be running behind fullbacks Andy Janovich and Juwan Thompson. At tight end, the Broncos said farewell to Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels and brought in Garrett Graham and Henry Krieger Coble. Jeff Heuerman, who missed his rookie season with a knee injury, returns alongside veteran Virgil Green.SANDERS NEXT: Elway said he had a trio of priorities this summer: re-signing linebackers Miller and Brandon Marshall along with receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Hes 2 for 3 with Miller and Marshall (four years, $32 million) done. Sanders is entering the final season of his three-year, $15 million deal.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Nike Air Max Plus Pas Cher . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Air Max 270 Homme Pas Cher . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.maxnikepascher.fr/ . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Vapormax Homme Pas Cher Chine Air Max 200 Pas Cher . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. This story appears in ESPN The Magazines November 28 Tall Ball Issue. Subscribe today!POINT GUARDS, BASKETBALLS vertically challenged demographic, tend to view post players with a mix of exasperation and admiration. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, a former point herself, is no different when she looks at 6-foot-4 senior center Alaina Coates.It seems like for bigs, theres no middle ground, the 5-5 Staley says. Theyre either soft or theyre physical, its not like theres an in-between.Soft is a bit harsh -- even bigs who drift to the perimeter still end up taking some punishment inside. But Staley sees the womens game changing, with fewer pure centers who play with their backs to the basket and dont act like 3-point shooters.Of course, part of her perspective comes from having such a valuable commodity in Coates. And with junior Aja Wilson, a 6-5 forward who prefers to face the basket, she has two very different types of dominant bigs. The Gamecocks relied on the inside-outside strength of the duo to go 33-2 and win the SEC title last season.While Wilson is a superstar -- she was a consensus All-American and national player of the year candidate last season -- and the face of one of the countrys best teams, Coates is also an elite professional prospect, one who will be in the mix to become the WNBAs No. 1 draft pick in April.Because of her willingness to play a style that few are willing to play, shell find her way into a positive role with a WNBA team, says Cori Close, coach of Pac-12 preseason favorite UCLA, which will face South Carolina on Dec. 18. You cant put a price tag on it.In the WNBA, big players with guard skills abound: Los Angeles 6-4 forward-center Candace Parker, Chicagos 6-5 forward-guard Elena Delle Donne and Seattles 6-4 forward Breanna Stewart are all among the two tallest players on their teams, but only Parker is designated as a center. No matter how theyre listed, they have similar styles: Stewart made 45 3s this past season, Delle Donne 43 and Parker 42.In contrast, Minnesotas 6-6 Sylvia Fowles has attempted just one 3-pointer in nine WNBA seasons. Phoenixs 6-9 star Brittney Griner has taken none. Fowles says its simple: Players such as Coates should perfect what they do best.Staley, who played alongside 6-5 Lisa Leslie in the Olympics -- Leslie was a four-time Olympian and three-time MVP with Los Angeles -- has the same vision for Coatess.dddddddddddd Lisa was really smart in that she knew where she was going to make the most money, Staley says. Which was: Ive got to get down there and score in the paint. She worked at it.Staley says Coates, while still a work in progress, can be the most dominant player in the country just being a back-to-the-basket player. Shes embraced that.That allows Staley a luxury that few other college coaches have. According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Gamecocks posted up 64 percent more than the national average last season.Coates considers Wilson the perfect high-low partner -- I trust Aja -- and they share the joy of being local stars who have helped South Carolina become the nations attendance leader (14,978 per home game last season) in womens basketball. Coates is from Irmo, just northwest of Columbia, and Wilson is from Hopkins, to the southeast. Their towns are 35 minutes apart, with the university downtown right between them.Alaina and I have been playing together since we were 12 or 13 years old, with AAU, Wilson says. Its fun to have a true back-to-the-basket player, especially with a person like me whos not. Its a nice balance.Coates, who posted up 33.3 percent more than the average player last season, was the only center among the SECs top 20 scorers (12.1 points per game). Just 15 percent of the SECs top 41 rebounders were centers, with Coates leading at 10.3 rpg.She was mentored from an early age by her father, Gary Coates, a command sergeant major in the Army National Guard and active-duty military for 33 years. Playing the post makes you mature, says Gary, whose brother, Ben Coates, was an NFL tight end for 10 seasons.Alaina has taken her dads lessons to heart.I enjoy being a 5, she says. Being a center means youre going to war down there on the block. I like the feeling that Im going to bully my way around out there.The kindhearted Coates says this with a laugh. But Staley prefers Coates to have a bit of an edge. That may be the difference in the Gamecocks run at the 2017 national title.I dont like when she plays passive or when she makes herself blend in, Staley says. Shes physical, shes imposing, shes mobile, shes quick. Shes all of those things.And if shes anything less than that, then she might as well be 5-11. ' ' '