ber. Now the challenge is to win two in a row and match the 1907-08 Cubs.It does make you hungry just to validate it. When yo

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Gary Kubiak trusts Trevor Siemian has both the physical toughness and the mental tenacity to lead the Denver Broncos down the stretch.That much was clear this week when Siemian received a second cortisone shot in his ailing left shoulder along with a vote of confidence from his coach.Like a kid playing Whac-A-Mole at an arcade, Kubiak seemingly has spent the whole season hammering away at rumors of another quarterback controversy in Denver:-No, Paxton Lynch isnt going to be under center for the homestretch that includes two games against Kansas City, one against Oakland and another against rival New England.-No, Kubiak has never wavered on Siemian, who won the job as Peyton Mannings successor over trade acquisition Mark Sanchez and Lynch, the teams first-round draft pick.-Yes, he expects much, much more of his QB who has earned GM John Elways praise for going 7-2 as the starter.I want Trevor to play big. I dont want Trevor to play OK or good, Kubiak said.Elway said Tuesday hes pleased with the teams record and also expects the Broncos to go on another post-bye roll.I think we would take it if you said at Week 10 wed be 7-3 with whats happened, Elway said. We havent played our best football yet, which I think is the encouraging thing.But weve played hard week in and week out, and so Im excited about our possibilities and what we can do. I know that the schedule is a tough schedule from here on out, but thats what happens when you win the division. But were excited about it.We feel like we can get better on the offensive side. We have room for improvement there. Weve figured out ways to win. Thats what you have to do. Were excited about the last six.Siemian said he relishes the rising expectations.Kube expects a lot out of me. I expect a lot out myself truthfully, Siemian said.To do that, he knows he has to stay upright.Siemian took a beating in Denvers 25-23 win at New Orleans on Sunday when he was sacked six times, hit on 11 other drop-backs and tackled on three runs. Thats an agonizing total of 20 shots on that sore left shoulder thats bothered him since it was driven to the turf in Tampa on Oct. 2, forcing him to sit out the next six quarters.Hes beat up. He took a lot of shots, Kubiak said. Some of them he has to take responsibility for. We have to make sure that hes stepping up in the pocket.Aside from the dazzling defensive 2-point conversion that won it, the takeaway image from the Superdome was Siemian on his back, his arms outstretched toward the roof in celebration after getting hammered while throwing a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.The reason he does make a lot of plays is because he will sit in there and get hit right in the mouth and make a play. That is a great characteristic of a quarterback because you have to do that sometimes, Kubiak said.Kubiak then added this caveat: Siemian needs to protect himself better. This, even though five of the sacks and both of Siemians interceptions Sunday came on four-man rushes, meaning the Broncos had the blockers, but still couldnt protect the passer properly.Right now, sometimes his depth is bad in the shotgun, Kubiak said. Its something weve got to work on. When its good, hes stepping up. Sometimes hes drifting and getting hit when he shouldnt be getting hit.He gets on the road, gets loud, you get in the gun, you start getting away from the center a little too far and now all of a sudden youre back there hitting 11 yards. Were not going to protect you if youre doing that. Its just something that we have to improve with him.That was Kubiak defending his beleaguered lineman, something hes willing to do because hes as much assured in Siemians psychological doggedness as he is in his physical toughness.The bye week will provide the coaching staff the opportunity to reconfigure Siemians pocket of protection.Ty Sambrailo replaced an ineffective Donald Stephenson at right guard midway through the game Sunday, when the Broncos broke out of a prolonged funk and had zero three-and-outs in a dozen drives.Kubiak said Tuesday that Sambrailo deserves to play a lot more football.Like a seasoned veteran, Siemian placed plenty of the blame for his aches and pains on his battered shoulders.A lot of times Im holding the ball too long and I get what I deserve in that sense, Siemian said.He said this five-day furlough that begins Wednesday is all about letting his battered body heal.Yeah, a lot of rest, Siemian said. Wont be doing much bench press this week.Hell be doing the heavy lifting soon enough.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapletonHydro Flask 40 OZ Danmark . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. Hydro Flask Billig . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. http://www.danmarkhydroflask.com/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Hydro Flask 24 OZ Danmark . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Hydro Flask Kaffe . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Theo Epstein is rising to a new reality.For the last few years Ive had a semi-recurring dream, maybe five or six times, where Ive woken up, wow, we just won the World Series with the Cubs. Thats unbelievable, he recalled Monday night.And then about 10 seconds later I realize it was just a dream, and then the rest of the day stinks, right? Its a pretty great feeling and then back to reality. The last five days or whatever its been, Ive been waking up with the same realization and then it takes a couple seconds. Wow! It really happened!Days after the team he designed ended a long championship drought, Epstein was voted The Sporting News Major League Baseball Executive of the Year for revitalizing the Chicago Cubs.Balloting by 56 big league executives took place before the postseason. The Cubs led the majors with 103 wins during the regular season, then beat Cleveland in a seven-game World Series last week for their first title since 1908.During the parade I kept telling my wife we need to go home to change some diapers and do some laundry, because this is not real life, he said. Weve got to get our feet back on the ground.Epstein was presented with the award at the start of the annual general managers meeting. He received 13 votes, followed by Clevelands Chris Antonetti (nine), the New York Yankees Brian Cashman (eight), Texas Jon Daniels (seven), Clevelands Mike Chernoff and Washingtons Mike Rizzo (three each), and Baltimores Dan Duquette and the Cubs Jed Hoyer (two apiece).Now 42, Epstein was the youngest general manager in major league history when Boston hired him at age 28 in November 2002. He helped the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series, their first title since 1918, and a second championship in 2007.Winning at 42 vs. 30, I have a greater appreciation for how hard it is and how many people have to contribute and how lucky you have to get along the way, too, he said.Epstein left Boston after the 2011 season to become president of baseball operations with the Cubs, who lost 91 games that year. As he rebuilt the team, the Cubs dropped 101 games in 2012, 96 the following year and 89 in 2014. They won 97 games last year to gaiin a wild card, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 only to get swept by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series.ddddddddddddThis year, Chicago defeated San Francisco in the Division Series, overcame a 2-1 deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series and then became the first team to rally from a 3-1 World Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals.Chicagos 10th-inning rally in Game 7 was sparked by Albert Almora Jr., the first player drafted under Epsteins regime, taken sixth overall in 2012. Third baseman Kris Bryant was drafted in 2013 and outfielder Kyle Schwarber in 2014, and the Cubs traded for pitcher Jake Arrieta (from Baltimore), first baseman Anthony Rizzo (San Diego) and shortstop Addison Russell (Oakland).Jon Lester was signed as a free agent after the 2014 season and fellow pitcher John Lackey, all-purpose player Ben Zobrist and outfielders Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward were signed last offseason.Chicago gave Epstein a new five-year contract in September. Now the challenge is to win two in a row and match the 1907-08 Cubs.It does make you hungry just to validate it. When you can win two, I think it means even more, he said. Wed love to be the type of organization that national baseball fans think of when you think of October baseball.Aroldis Chapman, Fowler, Jason Hammel and Travis Wood have become free agents. Epstein already has been thinking about roster alterations.The mix has to change a little bit, he said. If you look to just bring back every single component and try to recreate the past, its going to change by definition. Group dynamics change. Human beings change. And so maybe its better to change it in some small ways on your terms and some intent behind it rather than just let it come back exactly the same and be stale. ... Well make some smaller changes, but I do have a feeling this nucleus is going to stay intact a lot longer than what we did in Boston.Founded in 1886, TSN ended its print edition in 2012 but remains available online. ' ' '