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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Julius Thomas is about to cash in, one way or another.One of Denvers dozen unrestricted free agents, hell either get a long-term contract soon or play next season under the Broncos franchise tag.General manager John Elway said back on Jan. 12 that re-signing both the big tight end and star wide receiver Demaryius Thomas were his top priorities after finding a new coach.I didnt hear about that until now from you, Thomas told The Associated Press. But I think its good thats something they want to do. Obviously, those conversations and negotiations will take place in the next coming weeks. Hopefully it all works out.If not, Thomas will still see a big jump in his pay. He made $645,000 in the final year of his rookie deal.Thomas is a bit of an uncertainty. He has spent 2 1-2 years nursing ankle injuries that rendered his production near nil and 1 1-2 years as a transcendent tight end a la Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham.Thomas stock soared after he rejected Denvers contract offer last summer. He scored a dozen TDs through nine games, becoming the first tight end in league history to post back-to-back 12-touchdown seasons.Gronkowskis record 17 TDs seemed well within reach. So did Grahams record four-year, $40 million contract he signed last summer that made him the leagues highest-paid tight end.Then, Thomas turned his left ankle at St. Louis on Nov. 16 and was never the same. Neither were the Broncos, who went from Super Bowl favourite to one-and-done in the playoffs.Thomas said he has no idea if his stock slipped along with his production: It is what it is. Theres no changing it. So, well just see. And he wouldnt venture a guess as to whether hell still be in a Broncos uniform: I guess well all know shortly.Thomas was one of Denvers league-high 11 Pro Bowlers. But he skipped the annual all-star game for the second consecutive season. Last year, he was preparing for the Super Bowl. He sat this one out to protect his tender ankle — and maybe even his earnings potential.Thomas said he starts training again next month and didnt want to risk any setbacks.Im going to really get after it to make sure Im ready for OTAs. And I wanted to be able to be healthy then and feeling 100 per cent, so I need to attack this off-season the way I need to, he said. I have goals that I still need to achieve, and the only way to get there is through work.Thomas said his ankle is feeling good, man, getting an opportunity to rest it. Thats the No. 1 way to heal. So, its definitely feeling fine. It just needs a little rest.He said he had a tough time watching the Pro Bowl.It was hard missing an opportunity to compete against the best of the best in the world, Thomas said Monday via phone while promoting the release of the Havoc DLC pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in San Francisco.I have to go back so I can finally get out there and play in that Pro Bowl.Thomas has always maintained this latest ankle injury wasnt anywhere near as serious as the one he sustained to his right ankle on his first catch his rookie year. That injury lingered and essentially cost him his first two years in the NFL.There are other unknowns facing Thomas: even if he returns to Denver, he doesnt know who his quarterback will be.With Peyton Manning mulling retirement, Denvers offence could be run by the man whos thrown an NFL record 530 touchdown passes or Brock Osweiler, whos thrown just one.If Manning decides to come back, hell give everything he has because thats the kind of competitor he is and the love he has for this game, Thomas said. And if he decides his time of running around and getting chased by big guys is over, hell have so much to show for it. Hes one of the greatest athletes ever, one of the greatest football players ever. Hell always be in the conversation of whos the best football player of all time.And if its Osweiler running Gary Kubiaks West Coast offence, thats fine with him, too.When it comes to Brock, Im a believer. I have a lot of faith in what he can do, Thomas said. I really believe hes going to do a great job when his number gets called.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap MLB Jerseys . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones. Cheap Reds Jerseys . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. http://www.cheapredsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-pete-rose-jersey. Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday. Johnny Bench Jersey . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Brandon Finnegan Jersey . Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt. Valencia made sure it will finish first in Group A with a 1-0 win at Swansea thanks to an early goal from Dani Parejo. LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Manuel Osborne-Paradis and Jan Hudec didnt want to leave home without securing their spots on Canadas Olympic team. The two men bounced back from disappointing downhill races at the Lake Louise World Cup to finish in the top 12 in Sundays super-G. Calgarys Hudec was 10th and Vancouvers Osborne-Paradis finished 12th, which met the criteria to be nominated to the 2014 Olympic team. "We were both talking about how frustrated we were so Im glad I got that out of the way now," Hudec says. "It takes the pressure off. The longer you leave it, the more pressure you put on yourself on tougher courses." They followed Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., in meeting the Olympic team standard in Lake Louise. Guay was eighth in Saturdays downhill to qualify for his third Winter Games. The 2014 Winter Olympics are in Sochi, Russia, in February. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway won the super-G at Lake Louise for the third straight year. Hes won six World Cup races at the Alberta resort during his career. His fifth super-G win broke the record of four previously held by Austrian legend Hermann Maier. Svindals lone downhill victory was last year. "Lake Louise has been good to me," Svindal said. "I won my first World Cup ever here in 2005 and its the one destination where I have the most wins. The super-G just seems to suit me well. "The snow in North America, especially here, and the snow in Scandinavia is more similar than from Scandinavia to Central Europe. I think that has something do to with it. Norwegians tend to do well in North America." Austrians were second and third with Matthias Mayer .24 seconds back of Svindal and Georg Streitberger .38 seconds behind. The men head to Beaver Creek, Colo., and the second stop on the World Cup circuit this 2013-14 season. They trade places with the women, who are travelling from Beaver Creek to Lake Louise this week for downhill races Friday and Saturday and a super-G on Sunday. U.S. ski star Lindsey Vonn has won a record 14 times at Lake Louise and swept all three races the last two years. But the 29-year-old crashed in training last week and partially tore a reconstructed ligament in her right knee. Vonn free skied, but didnt participate in the womens races at Beaver Creek on the weekend. She told The Associated Press she wants to race in Lake Louise. The first of three womens training runs scheduled for Tuesday has been called off because the women were delayed travelling from Colorado to Alberta. In additioon to medals and prize money, medallists at Lake Louise were given white cowboy hats to wear for podium pictures and to take home.dddddddddddd "Its pretty hard to walk around in Europe and think youre a cowboy," Svindal said. "Its one of those things where you wear them here and think its really cool and you get off the plane in Germany and its not that sweet anymore unless you are a real cowboy." Total prize money at the World Cup was 100,000 Swiss francs ($117,000 Cdn) with 30,000 going to the downhill and super-G winners. The Canadian team departs without a medal at their home race. Osborne-Paradis was the last Canadian man to stand on the podium at Lake Louise when he won the super-G in 2009. "When you look at the results on paper, its not quite where we wanted to be, but for the most part the three guys, Erik, Manny and Jan have good speed and theyre going to be building through the season," said Paul Kristofic, Alpine Canadas vice-president of sports. "Its good to see Erik up to speed so quickly. We didnt actually expect that." Guay tied for 18th in the super-G. Knee surgery in July kept the 2011 world downhill champion off snow until November. The 32-year-old said Lake Louise gave him positive feedback on his progress. "It was to see how the knee reacted, how the back reacted, how the skiing is in race situations," Guay said. "Theres good things that came out of this weekend and I have to build off of that." Hudec and Osborne-Paradis were 22nd and 28th respectively in Saturdays downhill. Hudec rapped his knuckles on the side of his helmet after crossing the super-G finish line Sunday. "That was the old fashioned Im an idiot," Hudec explained. "Even though Im not on the podium today, I knew I could have been. "Even though Im not quite in there, Im happy because I was skiing towards a podium finish. I just made a huge mistake. The reason I was hitting my head is I didnt trust myself for a split second to take a tighter line than what I expected. I ended up out in the weeds as they say." Osborne-Paradis was at a disadvantage with a No. 45 start bib. Courses generally get beaten and chopped up by the first 30 racers down the hill. So finishing 12th was the performance of the day for Canada, according to Kristofic. "Thats great. I needed it," Osborne-Paradis said. "I was really bummed yesterday. Im super-pumped with today. Its good to walk away from here with that Olympic spot." ' ' '