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NEWPORT, R.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 Chris Mullin Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Paul Arizin Jersey . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. https://www.cheapwarriors.com/599o-jim-king-jersey-warriors.html . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Golden State Warriors Pro Shop . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Warriors Jerseys 2021 . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans had a bye week while players around the rest of the league wore cleats on a day carved out for players to make a statement for a cause.Despite missing the My Cause My Cleats weekend, the Titans initially were not granted permission to wear their individualized shoes beyond warm-ups Sunday, when they return to action against Denver at Nissan Stadium.But later Monday, NFL senior vice president of communications Natalie Ravitz told ESPN that the league had reversed course.We have spoken to both the Titans and Browns, Ravitz said. Players from the two teams on a bye last week can participate in My Cause/My Cleats in Week 14.At least two Titans, cornerback Jason McCourty and tight end Delanie Walker, planned to wear their special cleats anyway.McCourty and his twin brother,?New England Patriots?safety?Devin McCourty, have a joint charity called Tackle Sickle Cell. Devin wore his shoes during the Patriots home win over the Rams on Sunday.I believe you should be [allowed], so Ill be wearing mine for the game, Jason said.Walkers cleats honor MADD and Delanie Walker Gives Back.Even though players are now allowed to wear specialty cleats, some players may not have gone through the process of getting them made because of the leagues initial stance. And it may be too late for them.We should be able to, us and Cleveland, Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo?said bbefore the league reversed course.dddddddddddd He would have had shoes designed to show his support for leukemia and lymphoma charities.Receiver Andrew Hawkins, the Cleveland Browns player rep, said before the reversal that while he hoped the league relented, he wouldnt be surprised if players wore My Cause cleats regardless.If they fine guys for wearing them, I think thatd be a black eye for the NFL, Hawkins said. Especially since its all about good causes and everything.Most Browns players said they hadnt had time to think about what shoes they would choose because they were under the impression the league would not reconsider.Browns offensive lineman?Joe Thomas said that, if permitted, he would wear cleats representing Team Rubicon, a charitable organization founded by Jake Wood, his former teammate at Wisconsin. The charity uses veterans for rapid responses to disasters, and has helped in places like Haiti (to assist earthquake victims) and Greece (refugees).When the Titans played Minnesota on Sept. 11 to open the season, linebacker Avery Williamson wore cleats honoring victims and responders on the 15th anniversary of the attacks on the United States.Despite reports that hed be fined, he ultimately was not.ESPNs Pat McManamon contributed to this report. ' ' '