Wichtig » oncos could be 10-3 and tussling with the Patriots next week

The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly have new uniforms in the works. No launch date has been announced, although the earliest and most logical time frame would be for the new look to be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season.But why should we wait that long? We recently challenged Uni Watch readers to redesign the Timberwolves threads. Here are some of the best and most interesting submissions we received. In each case, you can click on the image to see a larger version of it.Best overall concept: Paul Crary and Ian BabineauThis entry is, admittedly, a bit of a ringer. Paul Crary and Ian Babineau originally came up with their concept last fall -- not for a contest, but just because theyre passionate Timberwolves fans who thought the team could benefit from a new look. They created their own website and Twitter feed and generated a bit of buzz among the teams fan community. So they had plenty of time to refine their idea and didnt have to work under the same time constraints as our other entrants.But this concept is too good to ignore. For starters, in an era filled with snarling mascot logos, Crary and Babineau dared to put as much emphasis on timber as on wolves, with really strong results. The repeated use of stacked triangles -- sometimes to create trees, sometimes to create a wolfs face, sometimes to create a snowflake pattern -- is ingeniously simple, and the designs are embedded with additional symbolism, as illustrated in this animation:Its a really clever concept, especially compared to the default wolfs head approach. You can see more on Crary and Babineaus website.Best Golden State-style design: Brian CarlsonThe Warriors have one of the NBAs most interesting uniform designs, and Brian Carlson was clearly drawing upon that for his Timberwolves submission. It may be derivative (and he would have been better off putting the team name on top and the state name on the bottom, instead of the other way around), but it works!Carlsons road design is pretty sharp as well. If a wolf is going to be howling, hes going to be doing it at night, right? So heres a rare case in which a black uniform feels like a logical design choice instead of a lazy cliché.Best NBA-ready logos: Jesse NunezThe NBA has gone bonkers for roundel-based logos in recent years, so Jesse Nunezs proposed logos would fit right in. Some people may like this approach more than others, but you have to admit that these designs feel very much in tune with the leagues current design sensibility, and look very official as a result.Best no-frills design: Matt HarveyStraightforward, traditional designs are often overlooked in uniform competitions, and you could even argue that a relatively young franchise like the Timberwolves shouldnt go with a classic-style uniform. But if they wanted to go that route, they could do a lot worse than to use Matt Harveys design, which feels like a more mature, grown-up distillation of the teams previous looks. His green and black alternate uni concepts are handsome as well, although it might have been nice if he had cut loose with a more adventurous concept for one of them.Best use of W and M: Dom Veurink The letters W and M are essentially inverted versions of each other, and they can also stand for Wolves and Minnesota. So Dom Veurink came up with a nifty stylized W logo for his home jersey and then flipped it upside-down for his road jersey. Not bad! (And while were at it, Sandro Tagliavini devised an MW mark that doubles as a wolfs head.)Honorable mention: Wolves howl at the moon and NBA team logos almost always include a basketball, so Daniel Richardson came up with a logo concept that combines the moon and the ball. Needs a bit of work, but its a good concept. ... Most of the logo concepts we received showed a wolfs head either snarling directly at the viewer or pointing upward, in full howl. Joel Jenson got his logo to stand out from the pack simply by showing the wolfs head in profile, pointing forward. He then included an upward-howl pose for one of his secondary logos -- a smart approach. ... Neon, volt, electricity -- by any name, fluorescent green and yellow tones are all the rage these days. They usually look pretty awful, but Greg Koch managed to harness them to surprisingly good effect in his logo package and his home and road uniforms. The only problem is that the combination of navy and neon feels too Seattle Seahawks-ish. ... As usual, Tom Bierbaum submitted drawings that included great designs for opposing teams. Check out his concepts for the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder (who would change their name to the Bolts in Bierbaums alternate universe). ... John Richardsons uniform concepts look like theyd be right at home in the old ABA. ... Tom Kyles black alternate uniform is suitably spooky.Want to see more? You can check out all of the submissions we received here.Paul Lukas will have more team-redesign contests soon. If you liked this column, youll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so youll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here.New Balance Shoes Ireland Clearance . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. New Balance Shoes Ireland Online . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.newbalancesaleireland.com/ . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. New Balance Ireland For Sale . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. New Balance Shoes Ireland . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Only three teams in the AFC have double-digit wins and Denver faces all of them to close out the season. Von Miller is asking the Broncos faithful for a little bit of, well, faith, saying, lets not sound the alarm yet.Clinging to the sixth and final playoff spot, the Broncos (8-5) will have to get through New England, Kansas City and Oakland for a chance to defend their Super Bowl title.That looks like a daunting task for a team thats had season-long troubles stopping the run, protecting the passer and holding onto the football.Miller channeled his inner Aaron Rodgers on Monday, asking the restless Broncos fans to relax.I mean, Im still going to be here, right? the star pass rusher told The Associated Press. Im still excited. Im still ready to go. These teams Ive had success with. Ive had success with these three teams in the past. Ive had success with these three teams this year.Tom Brady returns to Denver on Sunday to face the defense that throttled him in the AFC championship in January. The Broncos hit him 23 times and forced him into 29 incompletions, two fourth-down flops and two costly interceptions, one of them on a failed 2-point try that would have tied it with 12 seconds left in the Broncos 20-18 win.In a prelude to his MVP performance in the Super Bowl, Miller had 2+ sacks, four quarterback hits, a pass breakup and an interception that turned into a Denver touchdown that night.Its going to be an exciting game, Miller said. Im ready for it.He said hes also eager for rematches with the Chiefs and Raiders , both of whom beat the Broncos last month.The second time around, you always play the team a little bit better, especially if you lose, said Miller, who had one of his 13+ sacks at Oakland and collected 10 tackles, three sacks and a pass breakup against Kansas City.Miller has shown the ability to take over a game and lead his team to victory even with an offense thats struggling.So, for the Bronco faithful and Bronco Country, have faith in us. Weve been here before, Miller said. Weve been here more than one time before and weve been able to come out on top. I know what it seems like, the sky is falling, but lets not sound the alarm yet.Weve still got tto play some really good teams, some playoff teams.ddddddddddddAnd if were able to pass this test, then we know exactly where we are going into the playoffs.Miller said that should the Broncos emerge from this stretch with a playoff ticket, theres no opponent that would welcome a visit from them in the playoffs.Yeah, were going to be good, said Miller, who had more optimism than any member of Denvers downcast offense that trudged through the locker room Monday still smarting over their 13-10 loss at Tennessee .Justin Forsett fumbled away his first carry for Denver, snapping a streak of 950 consecutive touches without a turnover, Bennie Fowler dropped what would have been the go-ahead touchdown pass with less than 5 minutes remaining and A.J. Derby was stripped of the football near midfield in the final minute.I definitely had a sleepless night last night, Derby said.Fowler didnt get much shut-eye, either, thinking about the Trevor Siemian fastball that went off his face mask on third-and-goal from the 16 with 4:41 remaining.Yeah, just because we go up 14-13 if I make that catch right there, Fowler said. He put it on the money. I have to make that play. I feel like I let my team down. They all got my back and Im going to come back this week and prepare hard like I always do and put it behind me.Fowlers flub came two weeks after he dived but dropped another perfectly placed pass on the Kansas City 20-yard line one play before Brandon McManus missed a 62-yard field goal attempt that gave the Chiefs a short field to win it as overtime expired.Had he made those two grabs, the Broncos could be 10-3 and tussling with the Patriots next weekend for home-field advantage instead of fighting for their playoff lives.Theyre not lamenting their losses, though, as they embrace their rocky road to the playoffs.Weve got three good teams, Fowler said, and if we come out of this, were going to be really dangerous.---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/arniestapleton ' ' '