Wir suchen Dich! » see how he does against a real pass rus

SALT LAKE CITY -- Some of Utahs most influential Mormons, including Mitt Romney, Gov. Gary Herbert and the president of the Utah Jazz, lobbied to get the private, Mormon church-owned Brigham Young University an invitation to join the lucrative Big 12 athletic conference.Jazz President Steve Starks said BYU was asked not to directly lobby other universities, so he instead worked to drum up support for the Provo school and enlisted help from the governors office.Starks, a Mormon, didnt attend BYU but said hes always been a fan and the universitys entrance into the conference would have been good for Utah and Utah sports.Big 12 university presidents and chancellors authorized Commissioner Bob Bowlsby to begin evaluating potential expansion candidates in July, and BYU was among several schools that made it clear theyd like to become members of the Power Five conference.But the Big 12 Conference announced Monday that it has decided against expansion from its current 10 schools.To make a case for BYU, Starks said there were several of us that I think have pulled out our Rolodexes and made phone calls. He declined to name names beyond Romney and Herbert, but said there were many others.Romney, the most prominent Mormon in the country, called Oklahoma State billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens to make a pitch for his alma mater, Pickens told reporters in September.Messages left with a representative for Romney were not returned, but Starks said he didnt ask Romney to get in involved in the effort because the 2012 presidential candidate already was making calls.Starks called the Utah governors office to see if Herbert, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, would reach out to his counterparts in states with Big 12 power schools to urge their support for BYU.In August, Herbert called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to urge support for BYU and days later made a similar pitch to Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin while they attended a Republican Governors Association meeting in Colorado, said Herberts Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.While Utah officials said a spot for BYU in the Big 12 would have brought prestige to the school and showcased the state to football fans elsewhere, it was also personal for Herbert. He attended BYU, as did his children, and his son-in-law, former Canadian football player Ben Cahoon, is the schools receivers coach.Herbert, a Republican, was not the only elected official to wade into the issue -- governors in Texas and Ohio issued tweets or wrote letters on behalf of schools in their states. In Texas, the lieutenant governor, Republican Dan Patrick, issued a formal statement urging the conference to not only take Houston but also the private Southern Methodist University.Entrance into the Big 12 would have entitled BYU to a piece of the Big 12s shared revenue. Conference members split a record $304 million in net revenue, about $30.4 million per school for the 2015-16 school year.BYU athletics broke away from the Mountain West Conference in 2011 as the university looked for better opportunities. The football program became an independent after not making the cut when the Pac-12 expanded from 10 to 12 teams. Most of the other sports joined the West Coast Conference.Independence has allowed the football team to play more high-profile games without a mandatory conference schedule against mid-major teams. The opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff from a non-Power 5 conference is slim.University of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has said his schools entrance into the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 was the most significant thing to happen to its football program. From a pure monetary standpoint, Utah has seen its athletic department revenues jump from $26.165 million in 2009-10 to $59.271 million in 2014-15. The national TV revenue grew from $1.222 million to $18.084 million.For BYU, joining the Big 12 would have also opened recruiting doors that can be closed otherwise. The highest caliber athletes in the country typically lean toward playing in a Power 5 conference, which besides the Big 12 and Pac-12 include the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC.The expansion talk came as federal education officials investigate how the school handles sexual assault reports. The scrutiny followed complaints from students and alumni about BYUs practice of opening honor code investigations of students who report sexual abuse.The strict honor code bans premarital sex and alcohol consumption, among other things. Gay rights groups also pushed back against the schools inclusion, arguing it has discriminatory policies.Rachel Sanders, executive director of left-leaning watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah, said elected officials shouldnt have tried to influence a sports issue, especially one involving a private school.Sanders said officials that pushed for BYU were sending a message that any problems with BYUs honor code and LGBT policies are acceptable.Cox said the Utah governors conversations were brief and didnt dive into the schools religious practices or honor code. The governor instead highlighted the schools strong ticket sales, academics and support from state leaders.---Associated Press writers Paul Weber in Austin and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.Malik Allen Jersey Signed . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. 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Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111.Thursday was great, Sunday was a thrill a minute and Monday ... well, Monday also had games. The NFL is back, and all you want to do is dig into this big, steaming buffet of Week 1 goodness and scoop out the stuff you like.But a weeks worth of evidence isnt all that much when it comes to this NFL stuff, it really isnt. Overreactions may be fun, but its important to think about whats real and whats not -- whats likely to stick and whats likely to fade.With that in mind, heres a look at a few things we think we learned in Week 1, and a few things we dont think will turn out to be worth all that much attention.Wait, arent you?Carson Wentz?Is this it, Philly? Is this finally the guy? Is it finally time to make room next to the Rocky statue for one of a real-life sports hero who inspired your city and lifted it to championship greatness? Wentz looks smooth and poised and made some sweet touchdown throws in his debut, and if the goal was to make the fans forget their team just traded its starting quarterback a week before the season, mission accomplished. This was real success in a real game, and its always easier to build on success than failure.But Id hold off on commissioning that statue for at least a week or so. Just three years ago, Eagles fans would have sworn on a stack of wiz-wit bibles that Nick Foles was the long-term answer. You need to see a kid do this a lot more than once before you can really buy in. Hes not scared, and he has the arm and the touch. He holds the ball a little bit too long, as a lot of rookie quarterbacks do, and how he overcomes that will matter. The NFL people to whom I talked Monday said Wentz looked the part and better than many of them thought he was, but most also pointed out that he beat clearly the worst team in the league. Lets press pause here and see how he looks against one of the top 30. Speaking of which ...Oof, the BrownsThis is going to get worse before it gets better. You roll into Week 1 with 18 guys whove never played an NFL game and expect that not to show up. This is a team built on draft picks it hasnt yet made. Think last year felt long in Cleveland? This year could make 2015 feel like a week and half. And no, the loss of Robert Griffin III doesnt have to make anything worse. It was obvious Sunday that nothing had changed with that guy -- the Browns couldnt protect him, he couldnt protect himself and their best hope was that he could take the lumps until they drafted their quarterback of the future. Josh McCown is a better quarterback right now than Griffin is, but dont let that fool you into thinking this team is a real threat. They play in the toughest division in the league and could legitimately lose every single one of their games.Adrian Peterson?will be just fineFantasy players are losing their minds over Petersons 31 yards on 19 carries. I get it. Im a fantasy player. Losing our minds is our default state. But theres nothing to worry about with Peterson. Buy if you can. Minnesota had the ball for less than half of the game and ran fewer offensive plays than did the Tennessee team it beat by nine points. Thats in part because Peterson faced a stacked box all night and in part because the Vikings defense scored two touchdowns. The Vikings expect to have Sam Bradford at quarterback starting in Week 2, and his ability to deliver on downfield play-action throws will open things up for Peterson in the coming weeks.So will Ezekiel ElliottThe years most-touted rookie averaged 2.5 yards per carry in his debut. Alfred Morris averaged 5.0 in thee same game.dddddddddddd Panic time! Cowboys blew the pick! Right? Of course not. First of all, Morris had seven carries to Elliotts 20, so ... sample size. And second of all, the Giants paid Damon Harrison $9.25 million a year in free agency so that no one could run on them on first or second downs. Harrison doesnt play for Washington. Elliott could get going in Week 2, and certainly will get going sooner rather than later. Dallas bigger problem is that it?wont do anything on offense unless Dak Prescott, the fourth-round rookie at QB, gets something going downfield in the passing game.Are the Giants back?Speaking of that game, it did see the New York Football Giants win a season opener for the first time in six years. This is a team that hasnt finished .500 since 2012, so all of the preseason excitement about New York as a bounce-back team seemed to ignore just how far it?had to bounce. But the NFC East once again looks as if it can be won?by basically showing up. The Giants lost five games last season?in the final two minutes because they couldnt rush the passer in the fourth quarter or pick up first downs in the run game when they had the lead. They did both of those things, on the road against a division rival, Sunday. If they want to feel good about their chances, they should go ahead. The last time the Giants were 1-0, you had Hey, Soul Sister stuck in your head. Thats right. Youre welcome.Is Russell Wilson in trouble?Look, its always possible that Dange-Russ has a line on some kind of bizarre new energy drink that can heal an ankle sprain. But that sure did look ugly -- whether youre talking about Wilson post-injury or the Seattle offense pre-injury. The Seahawks pass protection is an annual issue that Wilson always seems to overcome, and theres no reason to think he cant do it again this year. But man, it sure would be nice if, one of these years, he didnt have to.Arizonas defense has a big holeTheres no bigger Cardinals backer than me. I have them to beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl. I think theyre loaded -- deep in the defensive front, at wide receiver and at many other positions. Brilliantly coached. But their second cornerback is the weak spot on Smaugs underbelly. Right now theyre going with third-round pick Brandon Williams, who was a running back at Texas A&M a year and a half ago. Williams is learning the position, and until he does, more seasoned quarterbacks than Jimmy Garoppolo will be super-excited to avoid Patrick Peterson and take aim at Williams?side.Tone down the Jameis Winston MVP talkUntil we see how he does against a real pass rush. Winston is for real, theres no doubt, and Tampa has every reason to think its got its quarterback of the future. But not every team the Bucs?play is going to make him quite as comfortable as the Falcons did.Sometimes, the obvious is obvious for a reasonThe Patriots won in Arizona without Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and Dion Lewis. The Steelers won in Washington without LeVeon Bell, Martavis Bryant, Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton and Ladarius Green. Theres a reason so many people overlooked the absences and picked these teams to represent the AFC in this years Super Bowl. Coaching and depth make you scary even when your best guys are gone. Much respect to both of these perennial powers, even if yours truly did pick the Bengals to win the AFC. Hey, nothing ventured and all that. ' ' '