ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Trevor Siemian won the Denver Broncos starting quarterback job through a mixture of steadiness and spunk.He put in persistent work over the last six months while fans fretted, pundits pounced and the front office scoured the landscape in search of Peyton Mannings successor.It was one throw in particular, though, that confirmed the man for the job had been right under their noses all along.And it was an interception, at that.Early in the second quarter against Los Angeles on Saturday night, Siemian threw a ball to Cody Latimer in double coverage that traveled 43 yards in the air before bouncing off the receivers hands at the 5-yard line. The ball hit the ground but was still ruled an interception by Rams safety Cody Davis.With Mark Sanchez not playing that night, Siemian knew all he had to do was avoid a pratfall and the job was his. Instead of taking the safe check-down on an underneath route, he put it all on the line with that deep pass: his standing, his future, his job.I want him to be aggressive, coach Gary Kubiak said. Hes going to make mistakes. All players are going to make mistakes. Hes going to make some. What I really liked is how he came back after it.Siemian completed all four of his passes on Denvers next drive, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown strike to tight end Virgil Green, Siemians first TD throw in the preseason.Youre not going to grow until you get put in those situations and have to do the right thing, Kubiak said. Hes aggressive. He believes in himself.That was obvious to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders even before Manning retired and Brock Osweiler bolted to Houston back in March.He was the guy that I was throwing with prior to games last year. I remember telling Demaryius (Thomas), `This dude has an arm. He can make every single throw, Sanders said. Its just all about opportunity in this league and he made the most of his opportunity, even last year.Nobody was really talking about it, but he was our backup quarterback for seven weeks. He definitely knows the system and he knows what Kubiak expects. I think that we can win. I think that we can win a lot of ball games.Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Mark Sanchez all had similar statistics in the preseason, but the notable number was Siemians zero sacks compared to three for Sanchez -- two of which led to red zone fumbles -- and six for Lynch.Hes one of those guys where in practice when were coming, were blitzing and he always makes the right decisions, pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware said. And what kind of poise do they have in the pocket, that awareness? Being a pass rusher, once you go against quarterbacks, its not about how fast they run. Its being aware of where the guys are, where theyre rushing at, being elusive. Those are the guys that string those plays out and make those big plays and hes able to do that.Kubiak plans to play Lynch the entire game Thursday night at Arizona but said Sanchez would be the emergency backup.Sanchez said Tuesday he wants to stay in Denver but declined to say whether hed restructure his contract to do so. The Broncos could save $3.5 million and a conditional seventh-round pick by cutting him, but that would leave them with two quarterbacks who have never thrown a pass in the NFL.I want to be here, I love being here. Ive gotten to know these guys and embraced this community and Ive had a great time here, Sanchez said. So, who knows about anything on the outside? Im focused on getting ready for Carolina. Ive been hit up a lot about contract stuff or trades, there is a business side to this thing. But Im just focused on playing.Sanchez called the Broncos a first-class organization and said thats one reason he wants to stay and help Siemian.If things dont work out the way you want you cant just act like a crybaby and cause a problem, Sanchez said. I just dont think thats the professional way to do it. So, Ill help Trevor any way that I can and its a good thing hes a likable guy. It could be worse.Game notes The Broncos released P Britton Colquitt, who would have counted $4 million against the cap, along with WR Bralon Addison and OT Kyle Roberts. They also placed TE Garrett Graham (shoulder) on IR.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Basket Balenciaga Homme Pas Cher .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Balenciaga France . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. http://www.pascherbasketbalenciaga.fr/ . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Basket Balenciaga Femme .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Balenciaga Destockage . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Every time he found himself in trouble, Athletics pitcher A.J. Griffin tried to channel teammate Bartolo Colon. Having seen Oaklands lone All-Star selection keep his calm all season no matter the circumstances, Griffin simply followed suit. Even when he lost a chance at a complete game. Griffin and Grant Balfour combined on a seven-hitter for Griffins third straight victory and the As beat the Boston Red Sox 3-0 Saturday night. Griffin (8-6) wasnt crisp but still went eight scoreless innings to remain unbeaten in his last five starts. The Oakland right-hander pitched with runners on base in each of the first six innings and twice had to work out of two-on, two-out jams. "I just tried to act like number 40 in situations like that," said Griffin, who walked one and struck out three. "Just not show they have me in a situation or they have the upper hand. Thats something Ive learned a lot just watching Bartolo pitch." That was in stark contrast to Griffins previous start against the Red Sox, when he was shelled for nine runs (seven earned) over four innings on April 22. Hes come a long way since then, particularly since his last loss on June 15. Over Griffins last five starts, he is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. "(He) really made some in-game adjustments, then the command was all of a sudden there," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "He was even lobbying for the ninth, but I wasnt going to have him throw 120-plus pitches." Griffin got help from the As defence. Rookie second baseman Grant Green turned an unassisted double play in the second inning after Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked, then shortstop Jed Lowrie made an impressive recovery and throw to get Dustin Pedroia in the eighth after initially bobbling the ball. Balfour pitched the ninth for his 25th save this season and 43rd consecutive save dating to 2012. The As sputtering offence managed only one extra-base hit off Boston starter Jon Lester (8-6) and one reliiever, but made them hold up behind Griffins stellar outing.dddddddddddd Since opening the season 6-0, Lester has gone 2-6 with a 6.27 ERA over his last 11 starts. "(Lester) just happened to pitch on the wrong day given how effective their guy was," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We had a number of opportunities. Unfortunately we couldnt get anything going." Derek Norris homered and Yoenis Cespedes added an RBI single to help the division-leading As end a two-game losing streak and maintain their one-game lead over Texas in the West. Oakland reached 55 wins before the All-Star break for the first time since 1975. Shane Victorino singled twice for Boston, which had won four straight. Norris homered off Lester with two outs in the fifth. Cespedes, mired in a 6-for-37 slump, singled in Jed Lowrie in the sixth to make it 2-0. It was Cespedes first RBI this month. Lester beat the As on April 24 when he allowed three runs over 5 2-3 innings and looked sharp early. Bostons left-hander allowed only one runner to second until Norris homered, and faced just three over the minimum through five innings. Coco Crisps RBI single off reliever Junichi Tazawa in the seventh drove in Josh Reddick for the As final run. NOTES: Colon (12-3) will make his final start for Oakland in the series finale. Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who manages the AL, has said he wont use any pitcher who is used on Sunday. ... Reddick has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games. ... Newly acquired Red Sox LHP Matt Thornton arrived in Oakland before the game and was in uniform. ... Boston RHP Brandon Workman will make his first major league start on Sunday. ... The crowd of 36,067 marked the As ninth sellout of the season. ... Umpire CB Bucknor, who was hit in the side of his facemask by a pitch from Oaklands Jarrod Parker on Friday night, did not suffer a concussion but remains hospitalized for observation. Mike Muchlinski was brought in to replace Bucknor. ' ' '