While the Washington Wizards couldnt lure Kevin Durant back home, they checked several boxes on their offseason game plan.According to owner Ted Leonsis, the team went into the summer looking to lock up star guard Bradley Beal to a long-term contract; add another player on a max deal; sign a defensive-oriented big man; add skill and scoring at power forward; improve depth in the backcourt; and sign a draft pick playing overseas. Leonsis also said the team wanted to get bigger and younger.All of that happened except for the max deal, leading Leonsis to call this a very productive offseason.Most importantly, the Wizards agreed on a $128 million, five-year contract with Beal. They also signed big men Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith, traded for guard Trey Burke, and inked 2012 second-round pick Tomas Satoransky to a three-year deal.Add those players to the core of John Wall, Beal, deadline pickup Markieff Morris, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat and the Wizards are deeper than they were last season, when they went 41-41 and missed the playoffs.With the additions of myself, Ian, Andrew Nicholson, Trey Burke, its looking like its going to be a great year for us, Smith said on a conference call Monday. You have a tested core of young guys that have been in the playoffs, that have played big minutes in the playoffs and have gone deep into the playoffs into the second round. Wed like to get back to that this year.Signing Durant, who grew up in the D.C. area, wouldve pushed the Wizards into instant contender status in the Eastern Conference. Instead, Durant joined the Golden State Warriors team that beat his Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.Durants former coach Scott Brooks has a challenge in piecing together this roster in Washington.Brooks said he likes the versatility on the roster created since general manager Ernie Grunfeld acquired Morris from Phoenix at the trade deadline, and continuing with the offseason acquisitions.We have a lot of important pieces that can move, and interchangeable parts, Brooks said last week after the Wizards summer league minicamp. Weve guys that can defend multiple positions. We want to be a defensive team that can score, not a scoring team that plays defense when it scores.The hallmark of a defensive team led the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Mahinmi, a strong rebounder and defender, to sign for four years and $64 million. The 29-year-old said he wanted to go to a team that plays hard defense and doesnt take nights off, and the Wizards fit that bill.Opportunity was a key for the 26-year-old Nicholson, who signed a $26 million, four-year contract, and 30-year-old Smith, who got a $16 million, three-year deal to be a reserve forward/center. Brooks presence is a nice incentive for Burke, acquired from the Utah Jazz for a 2021 second-round pick, given that he coached Russell Westbrook into stardom in Oklahoma City.Its the opportunity of a lifetime, the 23-year-old Burke said on a conference call Friday. I hear that he always brings potential out of young players. He pushes them. Hes looking for a competitive player with a chip on his shoulder, and I think he has a chip on his shoulder as well. Hes a great coach, so I definitely think we can relate to each other.The Wizards are a team with a collective chip on the shoulder after a disappointing 2015-16 season that led to the firing of coach Randy Wittman. The organization let 33-year-old Nene, 30-year-old Garrett Temple and 31-year-old Jared Dudley walk in free agency, replacing them with younger pieces. Washington hopes for a bigger contribution from swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. in his second NBA season.Adding Mahinmi, Nicholson, Burke, Smith and Satoransky isnt a Durant-esque splash, but Leonsis said on his website that the Wizards executed according to plan in their goal of returning to the playoffs.We entered free agency prepared to execute the plan that we conceived, developed and refined during a three-year period, and based on an anticipation of where the NBA salary cap might land, Leonsis said. While we came close, we werent able to land an additional star player to our lineup. So we then moved swiftly and smartly to execute the remaining parts of our plan and add to our returning core. Clay Matthews Jersey . 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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee is undefeated but still must deal with some major losses as it heads into Southeastern Conference competition.Joshua Dobbs threw a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes to Josh Malone and ran for a third score as the 15th-ranked Volunteers overcame injuries and a suspension to hold off pesky Ohio 28-19 on Saturday.The Volunteers, who have won nine straight games over the last two years, now must wait and see how healthy theyll be heading into next weeks SEC opener with No. 23 Florida.Were decimated right now with injuries, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said.Tennessee (3-0) played Saturday without four starters -- three were injured and defensive back Malik Foreman was suspended for a violation of team rules. During the first half, the Vols also lost two team captains to injuries -- cornerback Cam Sutton and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin.When those two went down, we all got together as a defense and we were determined we were going to win this game for those two, linebacker Cortez McDowell said.Jones said Sutton would be out an extended period of time, though the nature of the four-year starters injury wasnt specified. Jones was optimistic Reeves-Maybin could return from his shoulder injury as early as next week but said the linebackers status remained uncertain.Tennessee also is waiting to learn how soon linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., defensive end LaTroy Lewis, receiver Josh Smith can return from injuries that sidelined them Saturday. Their absences resulted in featured roles for backups such as former walk-on linebacker Colton Jumper and freshman cornerback Baylen Buchanan.Ohio had its own injury issues. The Bobcats made the trip without injured running backs Maleek Irons and A.J. Ouellette. Running back Dorian Brown got hurt during the game.Theyve got a good football team, Ohio coach Frank Solich said of Tennessee. Theyre very athletic and they played hard. All in all it was good football game. We just kind of ran out of bodies.ddddddddddddTennessee scored 38 seconds into the game on the first TD pass from Dobbs to Malone. The Vols continued to lead the rest of the way, though Ohio stayed close throughout.Ohio, a 27-point underdog, was within 21-19 when Dobbs and Malone connected again with 11:07 left in the game. Ohio (1-2) wouldnt threaten again.Malone has caught four of Dobbs six touchdown passes this season.Ohios Louie Zervos was 4 of 4 on field-goal attempts and Sebastian Smith caught nine passes for 156 yards.THE TAKEAWAYOhio: The Bobcats have never beaten a Top 25 team but had a real chance to pull off a history-making victory if theyd capitalized on opportunities. Ohio didnt recover any of Tennessees five fumbles, and the Bobcats offense continually settled for short field-goal attempts rather than reaching the end zone. The failure to finish drives has been a recurring problem for Ohio. Zervos is 13 of 14 on field-goal attempts.Tennessee: The Vols won but made plenty of mistakes they cant afford to repeat once SEC play starts. Not only did they fumble five times, they also committed nine penalties.The penalties are inexcusable. The balls on the ground are inexcusable. Im pulling my hair out, Jones said.POLL IMPLICATIONSTennessees second lackluster effort likely will cause the Vols to drop a few spots. Tennessee opened with a 20-13 overtime victory over 20 1/2-point underdog Appalachian State.OFFENSIVE LINE SHUFFLETennessee altered its offensive line by having sophomore Jack Jones replace redshirt freshman Drew Richmond with three other players switching positions.UP NEXTOhio hosts Football Championship program Gardner-Webb in its last game before opening Mid-American Conference play.Tennessee hosts No. 23 Florida, which has beaten the Vols 11 straight times.---Online: AP College Football website www.collegefootball.ap.org China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Online ' ' '