Meister der Farbe » d four-time Pro Bowler, said hes trying

The Bottom 10 Inspirational Thought of the Week:I thought things had changed I thought things looked plain I thought I could see the lightI just could not decide and all my shots went wide Id waited for that light so longBut now, now I know I saw the distant glow I heard a distant whistle blow-- The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train by WhiteyHere at Bottom 10 headquarters, located in the humidor where Rece Davis stores his Andy Griffith Show VHS tapes, weve entered that time of the season where we feel a little bit like Ricky Bobby.We dont know what to do with our hands.As Thanksgiving weekend wraps up and the college football regular season nears its close, we arent unlike the support crew at your local Turkey Day 10K road race. The winners crossed the finish line hours ago. But here we still stand, knowing that while thousands may have headed home long ago, there are 10 participants still out there on the course. Sure, we want to start packing things up, but we also dont want to be disrespectful to the people moving along at a crawl, knees swollen and a little bit of snot dripping from their noses. They run, limp and crawl toward the light they see up ahead, hoping it is the end of the tunnel, but knowing its probably the Number 3 train headed in the opposite direction ... or Alabama.As they finally drag themselves across the finish line, what do we do? Clap? Hug them? Call the paramedics? Dig a discarded participation ribbon out of the trash and pin it to their T-shirt? Or do we just yell, Damn, yall, its about time! Youre holding up shopping traffic!With apologies to John Stephen Akhwari and Steve Harvey, heres this weeks Bottom 10.1. Fres-no State (1-11) As Ive stood at that 2016 finish line, I have not been alone. This season we have picked up multiple Bottom 10 Section 13 field reporters eager to keep us here at Bottom 10 HQ abreast of the situation at our member schools. This weekend we heard from Twitter bud @SJCsouthpaw, who was in the stands for our Pillow Fight of the Week between the States of San Jose and Fresno.Thankfully, those ominous leaning towers were just stadium lights and not War of the Worlds tripods attacking Bulldog Stadium. By the end, Southpaw went total Jim Cantore, braving the elements to bring us this final report.As of Monday afternoon, he hadnt tweeted since. Dang, maybe those were tripods ...2. In a Rut-gers (2-10) Former Big East member Rutgers lost to former ACC member Maryland in the Yes, This Is Actually A Big Ten Conference Game And Not The Belk Bowl Classic.3. Texas State Armadillos (2-9) The hay is in the barn for most of our Bottom 10 teams, but the Arma ... er, Bobcats still have one game remaining. They are riding seven straight losses, including five in which theyve surrendered 40-plus points and three defeats to current or former 2016 Bottom 10 teams. A convincing defeat at home to Arkansas State might be enough to continue their meteoric fall. Do Bobcats eat hay?4. Buffalo Bills, er Bulls (2-10) All three directional Michigan teams are actually pretty good. My Hammy of Ohio is bowl eligible. Bowling Green and Northern Illinois are not. But just when I think the MAC has become a place I no longer recognize, I look at Buffalo, and Im like Linus with his blanket.5. The SEC Least I once attended a rather redneck party where the main activity was to get everyone drunk, grease up a pig and then have us all chase the poor porker through a mud bog until someone finally caught him. The dude who won was named Earl. Ill never forget him standing there smiling with a front tooth chipped during the hog chase and his Diamond Rio T-shirt torn and soaked in what I hope was mud. Congratulations, Florida. Youre Earl.6. UMess (2-10) At the start of the season, I started a countdown in this space that would take us to what I believed at the time might be the Pillow Fight of the Millennium: the Minutemens visit to Hawaii. Then Hawaii went and won six games and fouled that up. UMass, however, has held up its end of the deal.7. Kansas Nayhawks (2-10) The Nayhawks lost (won?) the 2015 Bottom 10 championship in a tiebreaker. This year they werent able to make another run (fall?) at the title. Why? According to Chapter 13: Article X: Order 66 of the Bottom 10 rulebook, you only receive Fired Coach Bonus Points for getting your own coach fired, not getting Texas coach fired.8. UV-ugh (2-10)Remember my story about chasing the greased pig? Well, an hour after we were done, we realized there was a guy that who had been mashed into the mud during the scramble and was so covered up we hadnt noticed him. It took two chains hooked up to my pickup truck to get him out. His name was Lonnie. If the winner of the SEC East is Earl then the last-place finisher in the ACC Coastal is Lonnie.9. EC-Yew (3-9) As I was writing this, I was thinking that former ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill, whose firing is still wildly unpopular in Pirate Nation, is sitting somewhere and laughing like Jack Sparrow. Then I realized hes at Virginia.10. Ill-inois (3-9)I keep hearing from Big Ten fans bragging about the possibility of having two teams in the College Football Playoff. Oddly, they arent bragging about the possibility of having three teams in the Bottom 10. The Illinis 34-31 loss to Purdue on Oct. 8 is our version of Ohio State losing to Penn State.Waiting list: Pur-dont (3-9), Ucant (3-9), Rice (3-9), FA(not I)U (3-9), Marshall Blundering Herd (3-9), State of Kent (3-9), blaming the officials for ruining your Thanksgiving. Jerseys From China .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Cheap NFL Jerseys China .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.chinajerseysnflstore.com/ . 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. China NFL Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. NFL Jerseys China . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. LATROBE, Pa. -- Antonio Brown made it clear that he wants a new contract, but never considered holding out despite greatly outperforming his current deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.The wide receiver spoke about his contract status for the first time on Sunday following the Steelers first padded training camp practice at St. Vincent College. Brown insisted hes focused on preparing for the upcoming season and not his contract situation.The Rooney family has been first class with me, Brown said. I would never hold out. Its not a good representation towards people who have been taking care of me.Im a first-class guy ... and the first way of getting better is showing up. So Im always going to show up, do my part and be ready to go.Brown currently has two years left on his current contract, which expires in 2017. He established franchise records by recording at least 120 receptions and 1,600 receiving yards in consecutive seasons. The 28-year-old Brown also set NFL records, becoming the first player in league history with 526 receptions in his first six years and the first to catch at least 125 passes in consecutive seasons.He believes that kind of production deserves a reward.I know you have to take care of your guys, Brown said. If a guy underperforms, you get rid of him. If a guy over performs, you take care of him. Thats the kind of business were in.Brown said his agent Drew Rosenhaus is in talks with the team and he hopes an agreement can be reached. The Steelers historically do not give players new contracts until there is one year remaining. The team has said it will only negotiate with quarterbacks when there are two years left on a contract.Brown currently makes an average of $8.3 million, less than the $14 million average earned by the top five receivers in the league. Last season, the Steelers paid Brown $2 million of future salary to appease the star receiver.Brown didnt indicate if he would be satisffied with another restructured deal.ddddddddddddIts solely up to my agent to handle that part, said Brown, who signed a five-year, $42.5 million deal in 2012, after his second NFL season.I dont know what they can do. I know theres a lot of possibilities. Right now, Im focused on getting better each day and bettering my game.If Brown is upset about his contract, it certainly doesnt show. Brown, who appeared on Dancing with the Stars during the offseason, arrived at training camp in a custom-wrapped black-and-gold Rolls-Royce and regularly acknowledges fans with a wave and a smile during practice.I love camp because you get a chance to interact with fans, and I get to compete against other guys, Brown said. Its the beginning of the journey. It gets you ready for the season.Brown, a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, said hes trying to grow in all areas and seeks continued improvement even after he set the NFL record for most receptions in any three consecutive seasons.He wont have Martavis Bryant on the opposite side after the talented wide receiver was suspended one year because he violated the leagues drug policy. Star running back LeVeon Bell could also sit out four games after missing multiple drug tests.It could affect the teams Super Bowl aspirations, but Brown isnt worried.In the course of the year, theres always going to be adversity, said Brown, who missed the Steelers January playoff loss to Denver with a concussion. The only thing we can control is how we deal with it.Thats the way hes handling his contract situation, too.I could get into contract talk, but thats not my focus, Brown said. Im confident in the Rooney family and the Pittsburgh Steelers in getting something done. Right now, Im just focused on the season, working on my game and continuing to get better. ' ' '