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NEWPORT, R. Linus Ullmark Jersey .I. -- Everybody in the American Athletic Conference is prepared for the storm. Publicly, nobody is panicking.The AAC held its annual gathering in New England to eat lobster, kick off its fourth football season and start talking about what happens if the conference loses members to Big 12 expansion.I cannot stand here this morning and ignore the recent Big 12 news regarding realignment, Commissioner Mike Aresco said during his state of the conference address Tuesday. Although I do want to address it at the outset, Im not going to dwell on it.Coming off a successful 2015 on the field that included 10 victories against Power Five teams and four teams ranked in the Top 25 at some point, the conference is again facing uncertainty. While Aresco likes to tout the American as the equal of a Power Five league -- he uses the term Power Six -- the fact is there is still a wide gap in revenue and prestige between the AAC and high-resource conferences.The Big 12 offers a chance for two or maybe even four schools access to the pot of gold that comes with Power Five inclusion. And most of the 12 schools in the American have expressed interest either publicly or privately in joining. There are no secrets here.I think its pretty evident whos been maneuvering, but we respect each other enough to not put each other on the spot, said East Carolina athletic director Jeff Compher, who is the chairman of the American ADs group.Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen said: Were committed to the present right now. I think that keeps us balanced.Aresco met with AAC athletic directors in Rhode Island over the last three days. He said the meetings were productive and all schools participated. While the public nature of the Big 12s exploration of expansion is not ideal, Aresco said, he is pleased with the transparency of his members.I think weve set a tone that we are going to approach this in a workman like fashion, Aresco said in an interview with the AP. Were not going to be morose. Were not going to be acting like woe is me. Just the opposite of that. This just means there is work to be done.Aresco said contingency plans to deal with possible departures have been discussed. He would not give details, but said the league has considered that it could lose as many as four members, dropping membership to eight.All things considered I think wed like to be back at 12 if we lose some schools because it gives you more (television) inventory, Aresco said. The American is halfway through a six-year television deal with ESPN.There is only a handful of schools that I think would be attractive to us. What we dont want to do is risk the progress weve made, put it in jeopardy. We dont want to do anything to dilute our brand in any way. Could we stay at 10? If it makes more sense, absolutely. Especially in the short-term. We can play a championship game at 10.Aresco said he has not had an extensive conversation with Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby about the Big 12s plans, but they did talk. Aresco said he is comfortable that he will be kept in the loop as the Big 12s plans come into focus. Aresco said Bowlsby did not lay out a timetable other than to say the Big 12 hoped to work quickly.Aresco took over as commissioner in 2012 when the American was still the Big East. The conference was falling apart during that round of realignment. Ultimately, defections forced the conference into a near-complete makeover and what emerged was the American Athletic Conference. Aresco said having gone through the Big Easts downfall will help the American get through this.This is not going to be fun. Its not going to be easy, Aresco said. We know we had to rebuild three years ago. I think it was a dire situation then. Its probably less so now but that doesnt mean that there wont be specific challenges. Were trying to be prepared.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP Victor Antipin Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Thomas Vanek Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. http://www.authentichockeyshopsabres.com/Jason-Kasdorf-Jersey/ . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. NEW ORLEANS -- Lance Stephenson has made the New Orleans Pelicans 15-man roster for the 2016-17 NBA season.The Pelicans waived small forward Alonzo Gee on Monday, ahead of the NBAs 5 p.m. ET deadline to trim rosters to their regular-season limit, clearing the way for Stephenson.It was a tough decision, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said. What it came down to was team need. We just felt with Lances ability to play-make, especially with us without Tyreke [Evans] and Jrue [Holiday] to start the season, we felt like we had more of a need for a playmaker, which is why we elected to keep Lance.Gee, who signed a guaranteed one-year deal with New Orleans this summer after opting out of the final year of his contract ahead of free agency, is owed approximately $1.4 million.Asked if the money owed to Gee affected the teams thinking, Demps said, We were doing what was best for the team. Obviously that comes into play, but this was a team decision, a basketball decision.Stephenson split last season between the Clippers and Grizzlies after a subpar 2014-15 season in Charlotte led the Hornets to deal him to Los Angeles in the summer of 2015.?Before training camp, he signed a one-year contract with the Pelicans for a veterans minimum $1.4 million with $100,000 guaranteed, league sources told ESPNs Marc Stein.I love the game, so I just want to play ball, Stephenson said. For me to earn the spot, [I had] to go hard. I dont have to hide nothin. I go hard. I try to prove that every practice, and I try proving it in the games. I just had to earn a spot. And it shows how confident I am in mmyself. Matt Moulson Jersey. I just try to come in every day and work hard.The 26-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in Indiana in 2013-14, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game ?in helping the 56-win Pacers advance to the Eastern Conference finals. But he left the Pacers in the summer of 2014 to sign a three-year, $27 million deal with Charlotte, only to last one season with the Hornets after it quickly became clear that he wasnt a fit there.Stephenson said Monday that he is motivated to show that he has matured and to clear up misconceptions some may have of him from his six-year tenure in the NBA.Its like being a rookie again, he said. Everybody got this image on me thats a straight lie. So I got to show the teams in person.Coming in my rookie year, you think youre the guy, because you grew up and you were that guy since you were young. Coming into the NBA, everybody is similar to you. Of course I had a big head when I came into the NBA. Now that Im older and I learned the game a little bit more, I know how you control that and know how to show that Im working hard more than coming in and thinking Im that guy.Stephenson averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game in the preseason for New Orleans.I think that he has the ability to play multiple positions, coach Alvin Gentry said. Hes a good ball handler. Hes a good facilitator. If you have those three skills, you can step in and help a bunch of teams. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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