Die Allianz T-D-P » lobbying can begin -- if Franklin wants

Before we get to Damian Lillards expectations for his Portland Trail Blazers this season, we need his reflection on his hopes for last years team, the one everyone thought was headed to lotteryville after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez.Make the playoffs, Lillard said. Last year I said we were going to make the playoffs, and we did that.Ok, so maybe it wasnt as bold a proclamation as Lillard makes it out to be. On media day last year his first reaction when the playoffs topic was raised was, I dont see why not. Then he added qualifiers, as if wary of producing a headline for a story he wasnt sure he could write.Im not sitting here saying that, Were going to make the playoffs, Lillard said that day. I would like to, and I think thats what our goal is, but its not as far-fetched as some people would make it seem.At least he isnt going around bragging that he knew the Trail Blazers would be in the second round of the playoffs, which is where they found themselves against the Golden State Warriors after bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit in the opening series while the Clippers dealt with injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.He has earned the right for us to store his 2016-17 expectations in the reality room. Hes neither selling his team short through artificial modesty, nor ordering law enforcement overtime pay to block off the championship parade route.This year I want to get to the Western Conference finals and give ourselves a chance to get to the [NBA] Finals, Lillard said. I think its possible.It is, especially if the Trail Blazers wind up away from the Golden State Warriors side of the Western Conference playoff bracket. The Oklahoma City Thunder are weakened from the loss of Kevin Durant. The Clippers have yet to prove that they can get past the second round. The San Antonio Spurs are, if not necessarily worse, different without Tim Duncan. Besides, there havent been many points in time over the past 20 years when the Trail Blazers could say theyve won as many playoff series as the Spurs over the past two seasons.Unlike last year, the Blazers brought their core back, even if it was a very expensive way to stay the same. While other teams, even the heavily stocked Warriors, need a discovery period, the Trail Blazers already found out what they needed to know in last seasons playoffs.We learned we had some fight in us, Lillard said. We wanted it.He doesnt consider the Clippers series a fluke. He notes the Clippers were at full strength when the Trail Blazers beat them in Game 3, and Portland had the lead when Paul and Griffin went down in Game 4. And speaking of having the lead, did you know that after the Warriors controlled Game 1 of the second round, the Blazers held the lead for 137 minutes to the Warriors 61 minutes the rest of the series? They just couldnt close out games the way the Warriors did.We couldve easily laid down, even against Golden State, Lillard said. We couldve said: All right, we got out of the first round ... this [Warriors] team lost nine games. We could have laid down, but we didnt.The Trail Blazers could get credit for that last year. Not just credit, but hefty contracts for returners C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe,?Meyers Leonard?and?Moe Harkless, and an extension for coach Terry Stotts. All that cash means no more credit. Teams dont commit a third of a billion dollars in new contracts to be content winning five playoff games again.Two things bode well for the Blazers. First, their best player is getting better. Lillard is only 26, on the cusp of his prime, and in his fifth season he says the game is slowing down for him, making more sense, even getting easier. Second, the NBA is coming around to the Trail Blazers style of play. They used to be criticized for being perimeter-oriented, then were forced to grow even more so when Aldridge left for San Antonio. But the league as a whole shoots more 3-pointers now, and the Trail Blazers are better at it than most teams; their .370 three-point shooting percentage tied for fourth best in the NBA last season.Stotts is trying to present this season as a continuation of last season, rather than a separate entity. Retaining so much of the roster allows him to do so. His point guard sees it the same way.Lillard also sees this team playing deep into May. We never talk about vision as one of Lillards best attributes. Maybe thats about to change. Cheap Rollie Fingers Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale Athletics Jerseys . 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INDIANAPOLIS -- As Penn States band played and Lucas Oil Stadium rocked, thousands of fans clad in their traditional white shirts chanted We Are Penn State.It might have been more fitting if had it been We are Penn State -- and we are back.Five years after a child sex abuse scandal tainted the reputation of the school and its football program along with the legacy of late coach Joe Paterno, quarterback Trace McSorley put the Nittany Lions squarely back in the national spotlight Saturday night with an epic 38-31 come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. It was the largest comeback in the six-year history of the game.Before coach James Franklin left the field, he was already lobbying the playoff committee to put No. 8 Penn State in the final four.What I do know is that we just won the toughest conference in college football, he said. Weve won nine straight. They say youre allowed to overcome minor setbacks. Weve done that. Its up to you, committee.The Nittany Lions resume is impressive.Since rebounding from a 39-point thumping against Michigan on Sept. 24, Penn State (11-2, No. 7 CFP) has won every game, handed No. 2 Ohio State its only loss of the season and on Saturday rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to end the Badgers six-game winning streak. Penn State also finished as co-champs of the Big Ten East, a division many considered the toughest in the nation, and now has its first conference crown in eight years.Many, including die-hard Penn State fans, wonder whether that will be enough to jump up three spots in the committees rankings. Some fans even held signs that read we smell roses.While McSorley, who was named the games MVP after a record-breaking performance, has even higher hopes, hes content to let his coach lobby for a playoff spot.Coach said what he needed to say, Im going to enjoy this moment with my teammates, McSorley said before leaving the stage on the field.It was certainly a moment worth savoring.McSorley finished 22 of 31 for 384 yards with four TD passes, breaking the title game records for yards and TD passes. He also broke the schools single-season records for yards passing and touchdown passes.And McSorley wasnt the only one putting on a show. Saeed Blacknall caught six passes, two for touchdowns, and finished with a championship-game record 155 yards. DaeSean Hamilton caught eight passes for 118 yards, most in the second half when the Nittany Lions repeatedly burned the nations No. 3 defense with deep throws.What was most imppressive was how they won it.ddddddddddddenn State trailed 28-7 with 5:15 left in the first half. Thats when McSorley and the Nittany Lions offense finally got in sync by scoring touchdowns on each of their next four possessions -- the last an 18-yard TD pass to Saquon Barkley with 13:41 left in the game. The Nittany Lions never trailed again.They made some plays down the field and we didnt make enough to make McSorley feel uncomfortable, Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said.Wisconsin (10-3, No. 6 CFP) played without starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook but jumped to the big lead behind Corey Clement, who ran 21 times for 164 yards including a 67-yard TD run in the first quarter.But the Badgers usually stout defense allowed a season-high point total.Wisconsins final chance ended when Clement was stopped short of a first down on fourth-and-1 from the Penn State 24-yard line with 1:01 to go.THE TAKEAWAYPenn State: Consider the turnaround is complete. Five years after the Jerry Sandusky scandal tainted the program and the late Joe Paternos legacy, and the ensuing NCAA sanctions seemed to put the Nittany Lions on the fast track to nowhere, they are Big Ten champs and look like a real national championship contender.Wisconsin: After winning their first two title game appearances, the Badgers have now lost their two -- in shocking fashion. Coach Paul Chryst never could have expected this from a defense that hadnt allowed more than 30 points all season and had only allowed No. 2 Ohio State to gain more than 400 yards in a game this year.POLL IMPLICATIONSPenn State: Coach James Franklin insisted all week that his team was focused more on winning a Big Ten title. Now, the lobbying can begin -- if Franklin wants to. The argument goes like this: Co-champs of the toughest division in college football, championship game winners of the best conference in football and the only team to beat No. 2 Ohio State. Will it be enough?Wisconsin: In the first half, the Badgers looked like they would be making their case to the committee. Instead, the Badgers have no idea what will happen next.UP NEXTPenn State: Will eagerly wait to see who is next on the schedule.Wisconsin: Will wait to see who the Badgers will get in the postseason, one that could have been much more interesting had they protected their lead.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '