SEATTLE -- Two years ago, the Seattle Mariners went into the final weekend of the regular season with a chance at the playoffs.They missed the postseason but winning 87 games under a first-year manager provided optimism and the expectation that the Mariners were a club on the rise. They tanked the following year, losing 86 games and forcing an overhaul of the entire front office, coaching staff and a majority of the roster.This brings the Mariners to the end of the 2016 season. Once again, Seattle was in contention for the playoffs heading into the final weekend, only to fall short. Once again, there is a buzz and optimism that Seattle could be on the cusp of being a breakout team next season.Why would this be any different than the last time Seattle was in this place two years ago?Were not the same old Mariners. Were not, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. I think if people watched us closely this year, and the personalities of the team, got to see the team, theyd realize that this is a different group. ... We laid a foundation and well build upon that, but it is not the same old Mariners.Seattle heads into the offseason still with the longest playoff drought in baseball -- now at 15 years -- but the belief it will be ending soon. Seattle was equal parts entertaining and infuriating in posting an 86-76 record that put them on the outside of the AL playoff picture.It was a roller coaster of a season. Consider that between April 24 and the end of the season, Seattle spent only one day under .500. But it took until game No. 160 for Seattle to get any better than 10 games over .500.The Mariners lived in the space between contender and average. But the late surge that put Seattle into contention validated for Servais the processes he put in place and the changes that were made from the previous regime.I wish it was easy as just putting it all on paper, Servais said. Its not. Players change, seasons change, and you just have to wait and see, but I feel great about our team, I really do.Other things to know as the team looks toward 2017:MEN IN THE MIDDLE: Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager combined to post three of the better seasons for any position players in the American League. Cano showed the injuries he played through last year truly were impacting his performance at the plate, rebounding to hit .298 with a career-high 39 home runs and 103 RBI. Cruz posted his third straight 40-homer season with 43 homers and 105 RBI. And Seager reached 30 homers for the first time in his career and finished with 99 RBI.RECLAIM THE THRONE: Felix Hernandez was far from kingly in 2016. Hernandezs most inconsistent season ended at 11-9 with a 3.82 ERA, his highest since 2007. He was slowed by a calf injury that cost him two months and Seattles rotation never fully recovered. Servais was blunt on the final day that Hernandez needs to be in better shape for 2017 and continue his evolution as pitcher. Hes not a high-90s strikeout machine anymore but Seattle needs him to return to being the ace of its staff.YOUNG STARS: Young closer Edwin Diaz emerged this season as a minor-league call-up who ended up becoming crucial to Seattles run. Who will it be next year? Maybe outfielders Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia, who give Seattle the athleticism it wants defensively in the outfield but need to be better at the plate to become regulars in the lineup. Perhaps its time for minor-league slugger Tyler ONeill to finally get his chance in the majors.One name to watch: first baseman Daniel Vogelbach. Acquired from the Cubs, Vogelbach could be primed for a major role in Seattles lineup going into next season.WIN THE WEST: Servais was thrilled to be in the race in his first season. He was bothered it was for the wild card and not the AL West. The Mariners led the division into late May and by the end of June, the wild card was the only option left. With the talent that Texas and Houston have, the Mariners have quite the task if theyre going to reach the top.Everyone has the feeling that we can make it, Cano said. I hope everyone goes and prepares themselves not to play just 162 games. Swell Water Bottle Sale 17 Oz . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. sWell Bottle Wood Australia Stockists . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. http://www.swellbottleaustralia.com/s-well-bottle-wood-australia.html . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Swell Water Bottle Wholesale . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Swell Water Bottle Sale . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Editors:To help you with your planning ahead of the college football season, we will have the following stories, photos and more in coming weeks, anchored by a special project surrounding the Top 25 poll, team and Power Five conference previews as well as two weekends of feature stories. This digest is subject to change and will be updated throughout the month of August. For questions, please call 212-621-1630 or email Ed Montes (emontes(at)ap.org) and Dave Zelio (dzelio(at)ap.org). All times Eastern.DIGITAL NEWS EXPERIENCEAll the stories in this advisory as well as exclusive blog content, a weekly podcast and videos will be available through the College Football Digital News Experience, which is a fully curated digital presentation focused entirely on APs college football coverage and anchored around the marquee AP Top 25 poll. The site, which is responsive to all devices, is available for free and even pays a revenue share to participating sites. The DNE allows for local customization of the site logo, navigation bar, highlighted teams and other features, including embeddable widgets around the poll and Latest News. Some examples: http://collegefootball.ap.org/lufkindailynews and http://collegefootball.ap.org/wvgazette. Contact your local sales representative or Barry Bedlan at bbedlan(at)ap.org to take advantage of this free digital offering.TOP 25 POLLThe 2016 preseason AP Top 25 will be released on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. The weekly poll will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and will then be sent every Sunday at 2 p.m. through the regular season. The final poll will be sent roughly an hour after the national championship game the evening of Monday, Jan. 9, in Tampa, Florida.AP SPORTS EXTRA -- PRESEASON POLL PAGEA paginated look at the preseason AP Top 25 poll will be available shortly after the poll is released on Aug. 21. The AP Sports Extra pages are available in full broadsheet, half broadsheet and tabloid size (perfect for your preseason football tab). They will include space for local advertising or content. The pages will focus on the 25 teams selected by AP poll voters with emphasis on those at the very top. The pages are available at no charge to all AP Sports subscribers. Contact your local sales representative or Barry Bedlan at bbedlan(at)ap.org for more information.ONLY ON APFor the first time, AP has tabulated every single one of its weekly college football polls since the first was released 80 years ago. That research has been used to determine an all-time rankings list and other stories, including an eight-part series looking at the top teams of each decade.FBC--AP POLL AT 80To look back, all the way back, to the first Top 25 college football poll is to take a walk through history. The great teams at Notre Dame and Army, at Oklahoma and Alabama, the coaching greats like Bud Wilkinson and Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz and Nick Saban. For the first time, The Associated Press has sorted through all those polls -- all 1,103 of them -- to determine the top 100 programs of all time after eight decades of arguing whos the best. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos on Aug. 2 at 2 p.m.With:FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL -THE TOP 100-LISTThe Top 100 college football teams of all time as determined by The Associated Press Top 25. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 2,500 words. Capsules on the best 25 teams, then a list of the remaining 75 on Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. Will be featured on special page of the College Football DNE.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL -THE NO. 1s-LISTAll 44 teams ranked No. 1 at least once over the 80 years, with capsules that include the overall top team for each school. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 2,000 words, photos on Aug. 4.Also:FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1930s-40sThe Associated Press college football poll was created to try to answer the simplest yet most divisive question in sports: Whos better? The poll helped give a regional sport more of a national scope. The poll helped define the Army-Notre Dame rivalry in the 1940s and was part of their games becoming major events. By Richard Rosenblatt. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 14.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1950sBy the 1950s, college footballs power has drifted away from the elite Eastern schools and into the Midwest. Bud Wilkinsons Oklahoma dynasty dominated the polls as it set a record winning streak that still stands. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 15.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1960sThe focus on the national championship race and the polls reached new heights in the 1960s, with a peak in 1966 when the matchup of No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State late in the season ended in a famous 10-10 tie. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 16.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1970sCoaching icons dominated the AP poll during the 1970s with Bear Bryant at Alabama, Joe Paterno at Penn State, Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and Tom Osborne at Nebraska. Their matchups would often help determine No. 1. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 17.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1980sA new dynasty emerges at Miami, where the brash Hurricanes upend the established Midwestern powers, with pro-style offenses and speedy defenses that smother option football. It takes a little while for AP poll voters to catch up to the power shift, but when they do, Miami becomes a fixture. By Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 22.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-1990sControversial championships, sometimes with the AP poll breaking one way and the coaches poll going another, prompt the bbowls and conferences to start working toward a more definitive way to determine the national title.dddddddddddd Eventually, it becomes the BCS. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 23.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-2000sThe first half of the decade is dominated by USCs unprecedented run at No. 1, but then the SEC takes over. The overlap produces the last split national champion with the Trojans taking the AP title and LSU winning the BCS. The constant controversy leads to the AP asking out of the BCS process. By David Brandt. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 24.FBC--ALL-TIME AP POLL-2010sA new power emerges in Oregon, a rarity for college football. But an old one in Alabama dominates as Nick Saban reigns. AP voters are asked to judge a changing brand of football that is played fast and furious and often without a lot of defense. By John Zenor UPCOMING: 700 words, photos on Aug. 25.CONFERENCE AND TEAM PREVIEWSEach of the following will move in a `things to watch chunky text format of approximately 700 words, with photos.Team previews:All previews for Power Five conference schools, BYU, Notre Dame and the service academies will move on Aug. 12.Conference previews:Aug 8: SEC, Pac-12Aug. 9: Big Ten, Atlantic CoastAug 11: Big 12, Mountain WestAug. 12: American Athletic, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Mid-AmericanSHAREABLE CONTENTEvery Wednesday until the regular season, AP will offer a FBC--PICK SIX story from July 13 until Aug. 31.- FBC--Pick Six-SEC-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words, photos on July 13.- FBC--Pick Six-Pac-12-Pivotal-Players. SENT: 700 words, photos on July 20.- FBC--Pick Six-Big 12-Pivotal Players. SENT: 700 words, photos on July 27.PLAYOFF PULSE PODCASTPosted Wednesday evenings on top topics of the day. All podcasts can be accessed via the College Football DNE blog at http://collegefootball.ap.org/ap-now-college-football and through your locally branded version of the DNE.PREVIEW PACKAGE FOR AUG. 6-7 WEEKENDFBC--SEC SCHEDULINGKNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The SEC gets plenty of criticism each year for essentially taking a week off in November to play some scuffling teams. It makes up for it with a high-powered opening lineup that is particularly noteworthy this year, including Alabama-USC, Ole Miss-Florida State, Auburn-Clemson, Texas A&M-UCLA and LSU-Wisconsin. Does frontloading the nonconference schedule help the SEC impress the playoff committee and boost its national perception? By Steve Megargee. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Aug. 5.FBC--HARBAUGHS NEXT ACTANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hes slept at recruits houses, had his wife mock his $8 khakis and taken his team on the road for camp, rankling the SEC and forcing the NCAA to take a stand. There may be no louder voice in college football. But whats happening behind the scenes makes Harbaugh much more than a meme. By Larry Lage. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Aug. 5.FBC--HEISMAN HYPELeonard Fournette. Christian McCaffrey. Deshaun Watson. Baker Mayfield. Four of the top six vote-getters from last years Heisman race are back, giving this falls competition for college footballs top honor plenty of intrigue. By David Brandt. UPCOMING: 800 words by noon Aug. 6.FBC--HELTONS HOLLYWOODLOS ANGELES -- Clay Helton, USC coach, is not Hollywood. The longtime assistant was a surprising choice to go from interim coach to simply coach of a program that is one of college footballs crown jewels but has been unable to recapture its greatness under former Pete Carroll assistants, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian. The hope is that Helton can provide stability if not flash, but he also starts the season with a two-game losing streak and an opener against defending national champion Alabama. By Greg Beacham. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Aug. 7.PREVIEW PACKAGE FOR AUG. 13-14 WEEKENDFBC--GOING INDEPENDENTUMass is going it alone this season, its first as a football independent since essentially being booted out of the Mid-American Conference. New Mexico State and Idaho have faced similar decisions recently, too -- to go independent and stay in the Bowl Subdivision or drop to the FCS. New Mexico State is staying. Idaho will be going. When you arent Notre Dame, there are a lot of pros and cons to independence. By College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo. UPCOMING: 780 words, photos by 5 a.m. Aug. 13.FBC--YEAR OF THE RUNNING BACKIts another year of the running back in college football. LSUs Leonard Fournette, Stanfords Christian McCaffrey, Oregons Royce Freeman and Florida States Dalvin Cook all are back after rushing for over 1,800 yards last season. The talent at running back is so loaded that guys such as Tennessees Jalen Hurd and North Carolinas Elijah Hood -- who would be boldface names in any other year -- are relatively under the radar. By Steve Megargee. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by noon Aug. 13.FBC--CHASING BEARTUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nick Saban is one national title away from matching Bear Bryants record and, with his 65th birthday coming up on Halloween, shows no signs of slowing down. By John Zenor. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. By noon Aug. 14.FBC--RUGBY-STYLE TACKLINGLINCOLN, Neb. -- Rugby-style tackling, which positions the defenders head to the side of the ball-carrier rather than straight-on, is growing in popularity in a sport beleaguered by concussion concerns. The Seattle Seahawks were the first team to teach the technique, with Ohio State following last season. Nebraska, among others, is the latest program coaching rugby-style technique. By College Football Writer Eric Olson. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by noon Aug. 14.AP Sports ' ' '