NEU » marily a shortstop, though, and w

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama will trot out an unproven quarterback, insert a new tailback and replace a collection of NFL draft picks.Its not the conventional formula for contention but it worked just fine for the Crimson Tide last season, when Nick Saban and `Bama navigated a similar scenario to claim their fourth national title in seven years.-New season, same old expectations. It seems a given these days that Alabama is as well stocked with talent as any team in college football, but Sabans standard theme is about mind-set and attitude not recruiting rankings.When we have a critical mass of players that buy into the team ... we seem like weve done pretty well in the past, he said. When we have lots of people preoccupied with other things like how much theyre going to play or who their agents going to be next year or whenever, we dont seem to do nearly as well.For the third straight season, the Tide carried a quarterback competition into fall camp. Cooper Bateman, Blake Barnett, David Cornwell and freshman Jalen Hurts all have been in the mix, though Cornwell was limited during the summer and early in camp by a foot injury.The biggest hole is the one left by Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Derrick Henry, who ran the ball more times (395 carries) than Jake Coker threw it (393).Henrys replacement -- likely a combination of Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris -- will still be able to run behind All-SEC left tackle Cam Robinson. Ross Pierschbacher moves from starting left guard to center, replacing first-round draft pick and Rimington Award winner Ryan Kelly.Calvin Ridley headlines a loaded receiving corps that also includes tight end O.J. Howard, offensive MVP of the national championship game.A defense that led the nation against the run and ranked third in points allowed per game, total yards given up and sacks is loaded with returning stars like defensive end Jonathan Allen and safety Eddie Jackson.Young players like run-stopper DaRon Payne and cornerbacks Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey look like future stars. Others like defensive end DaShawn Hand and Reuben Foster could be poised for breakout seasons.KEY GAMESat Mississippi, Sep. 17; at LSU, Nov. 5; Auburn, Nov. 26.SEASON OPENERFaces Southern California -- offensive coordinator Lane Kiffins former team -- Sept. 3 in Arlington, Texas. Its the kind of neutral-site game thats become a regular staple as `Bamas opener under Saban, and hes won all six by double-digit margins.NEW BACKFIELDThis is the first time Saban hasnt been able to insert an experienced tailback to replace the latest NFL-bound star (six Tide backs have been drafted in the first three rounds over the past six years). Scarbrough and Harris are former five-star recruits who got limited carries as freshmen so theyre still unproven. Plus, two recruiting services rated freshman B.J. Emmons as the nations top runner. It will almost certainly not be a one-man show like last season, when none of Henrys understudies even reached 80 carries.FRONT SEVENThe defensive front seven might lack last seasons tremendous depth, but Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams both put off entering the NFL draft to return after racking up double-digit sacks.PREDICTIONArguably the teams toughest SEC games come on the road against Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU. The Rebels have beaten Alabama the past two years. Theres plenty of backfield talent, if minimal experience. But the Tide remains strong on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and Ridley is one of the SECs top receivers. The result: An 11-1 (12-0 is certainly a possibility) regular season and another SEC West championship.---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org Nike Dunk Clearance . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Nike Dunk Wholesale China . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.cheapnikedunk.us/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Cheap Nike Dunks China .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Nike Dunks For Sale Online . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- With two moves here on Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox filled their needs for an eighth-inning reliever and a left-handed hitter to help replace David Ortizs production.Oh, and they renewed their faith in Pablo Sandoval.By day, the Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers in a multiplayer trade that sent first baseman/third baseman Travis Shaw, infield prospect Mauricio Dubon and Class A pitcher Josh Pennington to Milwaukee.And by night -- after completing a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox for ace lefty Chris Sale, no less -- the Red Sox agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent first baseman Mitch Moreland, a source confirmed to ESPN.com. The deal is worth $5.5 million, a source confirmed to ESPN.?Moreland, 31, is coming off a season with the?Texas Rangers?in which he batted only .233 with 22 homers and a .720 OPS, the second-lowest mark of his career. But he won a Gold Glove at first base and, along with Sandovals return to third base, could contribute to making up for last seasons 38 homers and 127 RBIs that Ortiz took with him into retirement.Ortiz, in fact, is a Moreland fan. In a conversation last week at his charity golf event in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz asked who won the AL Gold Glove at first base. Told it was Moreland, Ortiz said, I always believed that kid could be special. It depends on how much [a team] plays him.Thornburg, a hard-throwing 28-year-old, posted a 2.15 ERA, 13 saves and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 67 appearances last season, taking over as Milwaukees closer after Jeremy Jeffress was dealt to the Rangers?at the trade deadline. Boston manager John Farrell cited a lower arm slot as the primary reason for Thornburgs breakthrough as a power pitcher, while Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski called Thornburgs curveball a dominant pitch.We feel like were getting a guy at the absolute right time, Farrell said.But Thornburg also dealt with elbow issues that caused him to get shut down midway through the 2014 season. He received a plasma-rich platelet injection that year and hasnt encountered any recurrence of the injury over the past two seasons.The Red Sox were looking for an eighth-inning upgrade, an addition that Dombrowski labeled a necessity. Koji Uehara and Brad Ziegler, who shared the role at times last season, are both free agents. Dombrowski said Monday that the Red Sox preferred to find a setup reliever with closing experience to pitch in front of closer Craig Kimbrel.Thornburg fills that deescription.dddddddddddd. He also is inexpensive, no small detail for a Red Sox team that is trying to keep its payroll below $195 million for luxury-tax purposes. Thornburg made $513,900 this year and is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Red Sox will control him through the 2019 season.We scouted him very thoroughly last year. He has nasty stuff, Dombrowski said. We feel hes a guy that projects to be a quality eighth-inning individual for us that can also close a game, if needed. He was what we were looking to try to find.Thornburg joins a bullpen that includes Kimbrel, right-handers Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly and Heath Hembree, and lefties Robbie Ross Jr., Robby Scott and Fernando Abad. Right-hander Carson Smith is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and could be ready to pitch by June 1, if not sooner.You see what clubs have been getting for closers and setup guys, Dombrowski said. Really, [Thornburg] could be a closer in many situations. Its a very either expensive dollar market or its an expensive acquisition market.And the Red Sox paid a steep price in talent, in particular by trading Dubon.Dubon, 22, batted .323 with six homers and an .840 OPS between Class A Salem and Double-A Portland this year, putting him squarely on the prospect map. Dubon is primarily a shortstop, though, and was blocked by Xander Bogaerts, the 24-year-old All-Star who isnt eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season. The Red Sox also have utility man Brock Holt, Marco Hernandez and Deven Marrero to back up Bogaerts.The decision to include Shaw in the trade underscores what Dombrowski and Farrell said Monday, namely that the Red Sox intend to trust Sandoval with third base after he missed almost all of 2016 because of shoulder surgery.Sandoval, signed by the Red Sox to a five-year, $95 million contract two seasons ago, struggled in 2015, reported to spring training out of shape and lost the third-base job to Shaw. And although Shaw faded after the All-Star break, he still finished with 16 homers in 480 at-bats, production from the left side of the plate that cant be discounted in a lineup that will lean right-handed now that Ortiz is retired.On Monday, Farrell called Sandoval one of the keys for us and a left-handed bat who is a proven guy and has every opportunity to make a major impact on our team this year.At no point did Farrell mention Shaw, an omission that is now more easily understood. ' ' '