3-9), Rice (3-9), New Mexico State (3-9), F3-9), Rice (3-9), New Mexico State (3-9), F | Forum

These are the dog days of summer, the part of the season most challenging for drivers. Charles Mann Redskins Jersey . With the freshness of the new season gone, the Coke 600 and Brickyard 400 in our rearview mirror, we grind away at the schedule for another six weekends until NASCAR takes on a new meaning in Chicago.I am in no way suggesting the next month-and-a-half have no purpose.In fact, for a dozen drivers their seasons depend on something spectacular happening in this final handful of races. But even for them, its a grind.For those who have punched the ticket to the big dance -- the Chase -- most would just as soon the music begin now. These are the hottest months of the year and the hottest track temps. Track conditions confirm it. Nothing comes easy in these final regular-season events, but each of them are valuable.Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Darlington and Richmond. None of these tracks have a presence in the Chase. None of them share any similarity to the 10 tracks in the Chase.So lets just take the next six weeks off.Just kidding!But I promise you, there are a few wearing full-faced helmets who would embrace that, because thats the effect this time of the season has on some drivers.How about those who have plenty to fight for? Well start with Chase Elliott. This young man was nearly perfect in the previous Pocono event a few weeks back, and he has had a season deserving of a playoff spot. Another weekend at the tricky triangle like he had a short time ago would go a long way in solidifying one of those 16 spots.Kyle Larson is equally deserving. My concern for Kyle is that he might try too hard. I do believe he feels some need to redeem himself after Dover, where he finished second with what appeared to be a superior car.I dont think he has a darn thing to correct or redeem. But I also must tell you drivers are extremely hard on themselves -- I suppose like most competitors are -- and while the feeling in the moments after the race is that you will have plenty of shots for that first win, the reality is the longer you go without it, the more the pressure builds.Larson is a lock for the Chase if he manages the next six events as well as he did last weekend at the Brickyard.Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman have done a remarkable job managing the first 20 races of the season. Richard Childress Racing also appears to be gaining some momentum, which suggests Childress could have two of his three drivers in the playoffs. This team has a lot to race for.Jamie McMurray has been stealth-like and has the experience, wisdom and knowledge to calculate his way into the playoffs. Of all the drivers Ive mentioned, he is most qualified to control his own destiny.All three Roush Fenway Racing drivers sit between 18th and 22nd, so Im saying theres a chance. But for the chance to become reality, the organization needs to find another gear. Progress has been made, thats for certain. But having no cars make the championship battle would make any measure of progress a hollow feeling.Kasey Kahne?is, well, in the same place he seems to be year after year, on the edge of in or out.While this has not been a typical Hendrick Motorsports-type season, Kahne has been doing this long enough and well enough at times for the expectations to be Chase or bust. He is capable of elevating his game to the same place weve seen Martin Truex Jr. We need to see it in the next six weeks.Last but not least is the driver who won the first race of the year, the biggest race of the year, but desperately needs a swing in momentum.Denny Hamlin has had a solid year until you compare his numbers to his teammates. This is without question the best Joe Gibbs Racing has ever been.Hamlin, who I believe is a championship-caliber driver, needs to capitalize on the moment. The moment is now. The place is Pocono.Hamlin wins, and that, folks, is this weeks bottom line! Dexter Manley Jersey . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Charles Mann Youth Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Da-Ron-Payne-Jersey/ . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. The Bottom 10 Inspirational Thought of the Week:Dont let it end Baby we could have so much more Dont let it end Honey please dont walk out that door Dont let it end Im begging you, dont let it end this way Dont let it end Im begging you, dont let it end this way, no, no, no... ...no, no, no-- Dont Let It End, StyxWhile the College Football Playoff selection committee gathered in its traditional location, a posh meeting room in the swanky Gaylord Texan overlooking Lake Grapevine in North Texas, our Bottom 10 selection committee assembled at the nearby Hacienda Courts, located alongside a body of water that looks great at night but is actually a water treatment facility.Like the playoff people, this years roster was packed with dignitaries. We welcomed back former coaches Watson Brown, Jerry Glanville and Charlie Weis, former fake head coaches Sam Winters and Ed Straight Arrow Gennero, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Manny, the night clerk at the Hacienda Courts, who had to step in at the last minute when Dan Hawkins bailed on us to take the UC Davis job.Honestly, it was a boring 24 hours. The only previously ranked Bottom 10 team in action was Texas State. On Saturday night we all huddled around Secretary Albrights Blackberry to watch the game on the ESPN app, but her battery died: Sorry, Ive been playing Clash of Clans all day. So we became bored and drove over to the Grapevine to throw rocks at Barry Alvarezs hotel room window.Still though, there were final rankings to formulate. So we did. And now we present those to you as the playoff committee did, by way of a Q&A with the media corps creepily congregated outside our meeting room, answering unreasonable questions about our reasons behind our reasoning.With apologies to Don Ready and Steve Harvey, here are the final Bottom 10 standings of 2016.1. Fres-no State (1-11) Ryan, Ed Hinton from The National: Fresno State didnt even play this weekend. As you mentioned, Texas State did play and lost badly. So how does a team in action not leapfrog a team that was in a state of inaction?Honestly, going into the weekend we believed that not playing would ultimately knock Fresno out of the top spot. But I ran into playoff committee chairman Kirby Hocutt at a Taco Bueno on Saturday, and he said Ohio State wasnt playing either and they were still good to go, so I felt like that gave us an opening. Plus, CTL+Cing teams up and down this list just takes too much effort.2. Texas State Armadillos (2-10) Hoss Langhorne of the A.M. Journal Express: As you mentioned and then Ed mentioned again, Texas State was the only Bottom 10 team playing, and it lost to Arkansas State 36-14. Did that result create much confusion in the room?No, what created confusion in the room was when Ed Gennero recused himself at the start of the Texas State discussion. We tried to explain that this was the Texas State Bobcats, not the Texas State Armadillos that he coached in the 1990s, who were in fact a movie team and not a real team. Then he realized that he wasnt real, either. Thats always going to be confusing.3. In a Rut-gers (2-10) Vini Mad Dog Lopez, Asbury Park Press: The College Football Playoff selection committee clearly loves the Big Ten. Your committee does too. How would you classify Rutgers young membership in that conference?When I was in college I once asked out the Goth girl who always sat in the back corner of my western civ class. Her face was painted white, she had a skull ornament dangling from her nose and her lipstick color was O Negative. Sweet girl, but sitting in that booth at Applebees we both knew pretty quickly it probably wasnt going to work out.4. Buffalo Bills, er Bulls (2-10) Samuel Clemens of the Buffalo Courier-Express: Looking at the final breaakdown of your Bottom 10, it includes multiple Big Ten teams, but Buffalo is the only team from the MAC. Darrell Green Womens Jersey. Are you surprised?Yes. And because of that we are now replacing the popular Twitter hashtag #MACtion with #MACshunned.5. Your favorite team that didnt make the playoffJames Harbaugh, senior writer at bigblueisawesomeandsoarekhakis.net: Does your committee have a message for those of us who woke up this morning, not to mention every morning for the last week, feeling left out?Yes, we know its no fun when your team didnt get one of the four playoff slots. We know your team played a tougher schedule than the other teams did. We know your team had injuries that one week when they lost that one game that they shouldnt have. We know it stinks to be the final Coveted Fifth Spot squad of 2016. But look on the bright side. You could be one of the other nine teams on this list. Or, even worse, one of the teams on our Waiting List who were so bad that their fans keep tweeting demands to have them moved onto the real list.6. Kansas Nayhawks (2-10) Frank Morgan of the Emerald City Enquirer: You mentioned the recusal procedures. Did Charlie Weis have to recuse himself when Kansas was discussed?Yes. Hed go stand in the hallway outside our conference room. However, I do believe he had his ear pressed to the door listening because whenever anyone would say the word Kansas we could hear him yell dollar dollar bills, yall!7. UMess (2-10) Ralph Emerson, The Dial: Chairman McGee, UMass fans were particularly ugly to you early in the season. Have you heard from any of them over the last few weeks?There was one guy last week who came after me dressed in authentic Minuteman garb and threatened me with his musket rifle. But it took him, like, 10 minutes to load it, so I just walked away.8. UV-ugh (2-10) Roger Mudd from the Richmond News Leader: Could you please go over the discussion points as you remember them concerning Virginia and their final ranking?No, I cannot. As soon as anyone mentioned Virginia, Madeleine Albright would get all amped up and tell us stories about the original Secretary of State, UVa founder Thomas Jefferson. The last thing I remember was and then Tommy said to Louis XVI... before I fell asleep.9. Pur-dont (3-9)Kid Shaleen from The Indianapolis Times: Last week the committee had Illinois in this spot. Now youve swapped them out for another Big Ten team. Why would you do something so stupid?Last week we had Ill-uh-noise in this spot because of their head-to-head loss to Pur-dont back on Oct. 8. But over the last week, the Boilermakers season-ending loss to Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket game has looked worse as weve learned that the then-Hoosiers coach had been using that bucket to pour salt into his players wounds.10. EC-Yew (3-9) Edward Teach of the Goldsboro Daily Rough Notes: East Carolina won the head-to-head matchup with Connecticut, which was also 3-9 and 1-7 in the American East but finished behind ECU via the tiebreaker. Can you explain the committees thought process here?Yes, ECU did beat UConn, but they also lost to Cincinnati, who also finished tied for last in the American East but also lost to UConn, who earlier in the year defeated Virginia, who lost to Virginia Tech 52-10, compared to ECUs 54-17 loss to Virginia Tech earlier in the season. I hope that clears things up. Oh, and every season is a snowflake.Waiting list: Ill-uh-inoise (3-9), Ucant (3-9), Rice (3-9), New Mexico State (3-9), FA(not I)U (3-9), Marshall Blundering Herd (3-9), State of Kent (3-9), UTEP Minors (4-8), San Jose State (4-8), people who still make serious We Want Bama signs. ' ' '