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CLEVELAND -- Theres nothing Joe Thomas hasnt experienced during a stormy decade with the Cleveland Browns.Amid the firings, the hirings, the draft busts, the regime changes, the mistakes, the quarterback conundrum, the losses and, oh yes, Johnny Football, Thomas, a once-in-a-generation left tackle, has personified class and cornerstone consistency while the franchise that selected him with the third overall pick in 2007 has wandered aimlessly as an NFL laughingstock.The man has seen it all. Everything, except a 0-16 season.And thats staring Thomas in the facemask.But as the Browns (0-12), first-year coach Hue Jackson and his staff mercifully reached their bye week just four losses from infamy and shame, Thomas believes things arent as bad in Cleveland as they may look.I do see some progress even though, obviously, no wins this year is disappointing, said Thomas, the eighth player to be selected to the Pro Bowl in his first nine seasons. But definitely the ship is headed in the right direction.The Titanics captain muttered the same thing before clipping the iceberg, but Thomas is convinced Cleveland will emerge from these dark days -- the dimmest in the teams 66-year-history, worse even than the 1999 expansion season -- into a bright future.Its been another one of those years for the Browns, who have lost at least 10 games in eight of the past nine seasons.It hasnt helped that Clevelands roster, overhauled by a new front office that decided not to re-sign several free agent veterans in favor of stockpiling draft picks, has been shriveled further by key injuries.Jackson was dealt a dreadful hand, but Thomas, who has never missed a snap as a pro and played on a damaged right knee this season, has been impressed by the way his sixth coach in 10 years has persevered.Hue has been exceptional, Thomas said, noting Jacksons ability to motivate, his football I.Q. and steadiness.There are no signs Jacksons job is in jeopardy. In fact, Jackson, who became emotional when describing the difficulty of this season following Sundays loss to the New York Giants, said he has assurances from owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam that hes not in trouble.The Haslams have already fired three coaches -- Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski and Mike Pettine -- since taking over the team in 2012.I have trust in the people who hired me, said Jackson, adding he asked for guarantees before taking the job in January.Im not distracted by what my fate will be because I never would have taken this job if I thought it was going to be anything other than me being here and seeing this through.Being 0-12 is hard on anybody. Thats hard, period. I dont like to lose, and I dont like being in this situation, but I know we are going to fix it.How were going to fix it is together. We have to do it brick by brick and step by step. I know we are in the midst of doing that.While his players get away, Jackson planned to work through the break, determined to get a victory over the final four weeks. Hell have starting quarterback Robert Griffin back after the bye -- hes been out since Week 1 -- and RG3s return could infuse some life into an offense that has produced just 39 points in the past four games.Only five teams have started 0-13 since the 1970 merger, and the Browns are desperately trying to avoid moving into the 0-16 basement as roommates with the 2008 Detroit Lions.To Jacksons credit, the Browns are still playing hard despite being outmanned.Thomas said that fight-to-the-finish mentality is due to a belief among the players that the extensive building project, though unfinished, will not include any more demolition.Some of the years past when youre sitting in this situation with a poor record, the coach is imminently going to get fired, all the players on the team are going to get cut and traded and released and theres a bomb thats going to get dropped on the organization, said Thomas, who has had just one winning season in Cleveland.The optimism and positivity and the effort you still see out there on a daily basis is because everybody here knows were working for something down the line in the future and its not going to get destroyed at the end of the season.Thomas has been fooled before. The 2016 season reminds him of 2013, when coach Rob Chudzinski was let go after just one year following the finale at Pittsburgh.I thought `No way are they going to fire him. That would be idiotic, he said. I couldnt believe it. But we did, and thats the way it was, I guess. That was the most shocked Ive even been.Three years later, the Browns, who will face Cincinnati, Buffalo and San Diego the next three weeks, will finish up on the road against the Steelers again. Only this time Thomas feels the end of another demoralizing season represents a beginning.Theres a lot still for this team to play for in that regard because we do know these coaches are going to be here, he said. A lot of these players are going to be here. So this is our opportunity to start building for next year.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Air Force 1 Shoes Wholesale . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Wholesale Air Force 1 NZ . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. http://www.cheapairforce1nz.com/ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Nike Air Force 1 NZ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Nike Air Force 1 Cheap NZ . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Bismack Biyombo is on his way to Orlando to form a menacing new frontcourt with Serge Ibaka.The Magic and Biyombo agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal Saturday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a contract cannot be signed until Thursday.Biyombo is coming off a breakout year in Toronto. His numbers dont jump off the page -- 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks in a bench role -- but he started to show more of the athleticism, toughness and shot-blocking instincts that caused him to rocket up the draft board five years ago.Biyombo was the seventh overall pick in 2011, acquired by Charlotte in a draft-night deal with Sacramento. But he never was able to make a true impact in four years there, and some started to label him a bust.In this years playoffs, however, he was superb, helping the Raptors finally get out of the first round and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.When Jonas Valanciunas was injured against Miami in the conference semifinals, Biyombo started and was a force. He had 17 points and 16 rebounds in Torontos Game 7 victory. He followed that with 26 rebounds and four blocks in a Game 3 victory over Cleveland in the conference finals. He also had 14 boards and three blocks in Game 4.Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey were holding out hope that Biyombo might take a diiscount to remain with the Raptors after they helped him get his career on track.ddddddddddddBut with big money already committed to DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and Valanciunas, they were fully expecting Biyombo to price himself out of Toronto.Orlando acquired Serge Ibaka from Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade. He will play on one side of Biyombo, with promising small forward Aaron Gordon on the other.It remains to be seen what the Magic do with incumbent center Nikola Vucevic, one of the better offensive centers in the game over his five years in the league. He averaged 18.2 points and 8.9 rebounds last season.The Magic could keep Vucevic to give them a productive three-man rotation with Biyombo and Ibaka. Or they could try to trade him, continuing the makeover under general manager Rob Hennigan in a bid to better suit the roster to the style of new coach Frank Vogel.Its been a busy offseason for the Magic. They have retained swingman Evan Fournier, added free agents Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin, traded for Ibaka and brought in Vogel after coach Scott Skiles abrupt resignation.They have not been to the playoffs since 2012. Mixing defensive-minded veterans with a group of younger players like Gordon, Fournier and Elfrid Payton could change that. ' ' '