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May 11 '19
The 10 schools that make up the Big 12 are bound together by a deal committing their television rights to the conference through the 2024-25 school year. Discount Sneakers Canada .That grant of rights ends with the expiration of the conferences $2.6 billion television contract with Fox and ESPN. The question hanging over the Big 12 has always been: When that TV deal runs out, will the conference end, too? Will Texas and Oklahoma, the conferences flagship programs, remain satisfied with being the Big 12s big dogs, or will they seek potentially sweeter deals elsewhere.Expansion wasnt going to change that, so the Big 12 declined on Monday to add two schools from a group of 11 that included BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Connecticut. The conferences leaders then tried their best to put forth a unified front and positive outlook for the future.No ones looking to walk away from this conference, said Oklahoma President David Boren, the chairman of the Big 12s board of directors. Any feelings to the contrary is just mistaken. They dont understand the strong commitment that we all have to it.Claiming commitment is nice. A legally binding contract is better, but until the Big 12 starts negotiating another television deal or a revision to the current one, locking up the conference beyond 2025 is not a discussion that is taking place, Boren said.When the appropriate proposal is on the table, well be able to go to the open market at the appropriate time and I think negotiate very successfully, Boren said. I think the product of that will be cooperation from all of our schools.The Big 12 still has much to figure out in the near- and long-term.First up, the 10-team conference with a nine-game round-robin schedule must decide how to best implement a football championship game, which returns in 2017. Almost all available solutions are square-peg, round-hole conundrums, but the conference thinks it needs the game to better its chances at the College Football Playoff and raise more revenue.The addition of the conference title game gives the Big 12 an opportunity to open discussions with Fox and ESPN and increase the annual payout from the networks by about $25 million per year.Boren and Commissioner Bob Bowlsby declined to address reports that ESPN and Fox are willing to consider extending the rights contract and buyout a clause that called for a large increase in rights fees if the conference expands.A Big 12 cable network is not on the horizon. As Boren said, the market has spoken and it has said no. But cable is not what it used to be and having a network does not necessarily mean putting games on television.I still wish and hope someday, who knows which form of technology it will take, we will perhaps someday have a branded conference network of some kind, Boren said.The Big 12 paid out $30.2 million to each of its members this year, a record amount and third most among Power Five conferences. Still, long-term projections have the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference pulling away in the revenue race from the Big 12, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference in the coming years.Bowlsby said figuring new ways to generate more is one of the conferences top priorities.But I dont know that theres anybody thats demonstrated a direct correlation between the amount of money spent and the number of championships that you win, Bowlsby said. I guess it would be fair to say that wed not like to get 10 or 15 years henceforth and find out if there was a delta, there isnt any way we could fix it and it would make a difference in how competitive we were. But we reside in very fertile recruiting grounds. We have great coaches. We have great venues and great traditions. I think were always going to be concerned about revenue.Revenue is not necessarily a problem for Texas or Oklahoma. According to USA Today, Texas brought in more than $183 million last year, second most in FBS among public schools. Oklahoma was eighth at $134 million.Texas and its Longhorn Network have been a source of tension in the Big 12 and helped drive some schools away. Despite the Longhorns recent struggles on the football field, there is not a conference in the country that would not open their doors to Texas. The Pac-12 already tried to lure the Longhorns away unsuccessfully once. Texas is one of the few schools that could probably make football independence work in the way Notre Dame does.I look forward to working with Commissioner Bowlsby, chairman Boren and the other conference members to make the Big 12 even stronger in the years to come, Texas President Greg Fenves said in a statement.Oklahoma doesnt quite have Texas star power, but the Sooners would not have much problem finding a home, either. Sooners fans have made it known they are ready for a change and it was Boren that helped make the Big 12 seem unstable by pushing the need for expansion.On Monday, though, it was Boren touting the Big 12s unity and unanimity when it came to not expanding. ESPN reported Tuesday that those were agreed upon talking points.I think we all left the room feeling a much stronger sense of commitment to the conference, commitment to each other, that all of us are Big 12 people, were proud to be part of this conference, and we want to always be a member of this conference as far as were concerned, Boren said. We want to see it be all it can be.At least for eight more years.---Follow Ralph D. Russo www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ;Sneakers Shoes Canada Sale . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Sneakers Clearance Sale Canada . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.sneakersclearancecanada.com/ . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Last season, the Calgary Flames were dead last in even-strength save percentage at .911. No matter how many good, young players a team has, its almost impossible to overcome inconsistent goaltending.Ultimately, it cost 2015 Jack Adams winner Bob Hartley his job and led to a revamp in goal by GM Brad Treliving which should push the Flames back into playoff contention.After deciding the price for Ben Bishop was too high, the Flames have turned to Brian Elliott to turn that save percentage around. It was a wise choice.The Blues were No. 4 overall in team save percentage last season, and Elliott led the league with a .930 save percentage.Its exciting. We get Elliott but also [Chad] Johnson, center Sean Monahan?said. Two solid goalies. I think deep down we have a good team. We didnt show it last year -- sometimes the NHL is tough. Those kind of years cant happen. Im looking forward to a fresh start.Elliott will miss playing in a Ken Hitchcock system but is the kind of competitor who will look at his opportunity in Calgary as a chance to prove hes more than a system goalie and that St. Louis made the wrong choice in going with Jake Allen.Hes somebody who wants to be that guy to take a team, Monahan said. I think hes excited about it.Best new facesAlong with trading for Elliott, the Flames did well to get Chad Johnson signed to a very reasonable one-year deal worth $1.7 million. Johnson had a .920 save percentage last year in 45 games with the?Buffalo Sabres and has an above-average .917 save percentage in 101 career games with the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Sabres. Elliott is used to sharing time in St. Louis, and the 31-year-old has only eclipsed the 50-start plateau once in his NHL career. Johnson solidifies the position for the Flames.The addition of Troy Brouwer gives the Flames more size on the wing and a veteran presence in the dressing room. Players on the Blues raved about how Brouwer immediately fit in last season in St. Louis and was entrenched as a team leader by the time the playoffs rolled around. He also scored huge goals during the Blues run to the Western Conference finals, finishing with eight postseason goals.IIts exciting. Sneakers Canada Sale. Hes a big body, he can skate well, Monahan said. When you have people who are good people in the dressing room, that makes your team better. He works hard, goes to the dirty areas.Biggest unknownsTreliving took a bit of a risk when he chose Glen Gulutzan as Hartleys replacement behind the bench. Until last season, Hartley maximized results with the roster he was given, somehow advancing the Flames to the second round of the playoffs in 2015. But the Flames were also consistently near the bottom of the NHL in possession, and thats a tough way to consistently win.A system change in Calgary should help fix that problem, and the Flames certainly have the horses both on defense and at forward to play a puck-possession game, if thats where Gulutzan is headed. But, unlike Hartley, he doesnt have a lot of head-coaching experience or a track record of winning. Treliving is a smart guy and didnt make this hire lightly, but until Gulutzan proves himself consistently as an NHL head coach, there will be questions as to whether or not he was the right hire.Sure thingsFor the sake of this preview, were going to assume Johnny Gaudreau gets signed. These things have a way of working themselves out. And one thing Flames fans had to love was the performance Gaudreau turned in during the World Cup. If there was any doubt before, that Gaudreau could play his game against the best competition in the world, he ended it.Hes Calgarys version of Patrick Kane, and on a World Cup team that featured generational stars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, Gaudreau proved he belonged, using his speed consistently to spring odd-man rushes. He also showed a willingness to go into traffic around the net to score goals.He scored a career-high 30 goals last season, and if he gets signed and plays a full season, he should top that number this year.PredictionPropelled by improved goaltending, the Flames will return to the playoffs by securing a wild-card spot. If, however, the Gaudreau holdout works itself into the regular season, all bets are off. ' ' '
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