NEU » He can swing the bat and is probably one of o

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/ralphDrussoAPSupply NFL Jerseys . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Authentic .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Cheap NFL jerseys China . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Authentic Cheap Jerseys . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Shin-Soo Choo got the Reds offence going early and they opened up a big lead. They needed every bit of it against the Diamondbacks. Choo went 4 for 5 with a homer and three RBIs to spark Cincinnatis offensive outburst in a 10-7 win over Arizona on Wednesday. The Reds opened an 8-0 lead through four innings, but had to hold on tight at the end. "It was the epitome of a full moon," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We were riding easy 8-0, then all the sudden it was 8-4. A lot of stuff happened. Those guys (Diamondbacks) didnt give up. The Reds opened up a six-game lead over Arizona in the race for the National Leagues second wild-card spot. Cincinnati remained third in the NL Central, but moved to 2 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh, which lost at San Diego. Mike Leake allowed four runs in the fifth inning, but was dominant in his other five innings for first win in his past five starts. Leake (11-5) allowed six hits and four runs with no walks and three strikeouts while the Reds were building an 8-0 lead. "I was mixing and matching and keeping them off balance," Leake said. "Two pitches got me. Sometimes that happens. Fortunately, we had an eight run lead. It ended up being a stressful game." The Diamondbacks added three runs against the Cincinnati bullpen before Aroldis Chapman finished for his 32nd save and first career two-inning save. Baker was forced to take Jonathan Broxton out of the game in the eighth inning with soreness in his elbow. Broxton spent five weeks on the disabled list, returning on Aug. 6. "It was disheartening to go get Broxton," said Baker, who went to his closer Chapman an inning early. "I went out with (pitching coach) Bryan Price. BP said, Hes done." The umpire asked Baker, whom he wanted and he indicated that he wanted Chapman. That answer prevented Baker from making a double-switch with the pitchers spot due up third in the bottom of the eighth. "Thats the first time Ive ever experienced something like that," Baker said. "I was so worried about Broxton." Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips added RBI singles in the eighth, giving the Reds their highest run total since winning 11-0 at San Francisco on July 22. Frazier fought off a tough pitch and had a hit that landed out of the reach of shortstop Didi Gregorius. "It was an ugly swing with good results," Baker said. Frazier was as surprised as anyone the ball fell for a hit. "Its crazy," Frazier said. "I was talking to (Wil) Nieves at the plate about what a game it was. We were laughing at each other. Its humbling. Its weird. Its confusing at times. "No matter what you get a W at the end, youre happy. I dont know what I was doing man. I was confused. He (Brad Ziegler) has a nasty slider. It started two feet behind me and I thought thats going to come back in. I kind of jumped out of the way. My body ddid its own thing and away it went.dddddddddddd" Choo hit Brandon McCarthys second pitch of the game 337 feet down the left field line, where the ball appeared to hit the lens of a TV camera just inside the foul pole. The homer was Choos 16th of the season, his sixth leadoff homer of the season and 11th of his career. The Reds had four straight two-out hits to open up a 4-0 lead in the second. Leake lofted a ground-rule double down the right field line that bounced into the netting above the visitors bullpen to drive in one run, and Choo drove in two more with a single to centre. Chris Heisey added an RBI double and Devin Mesoraco made it 7-0 with a two-run single up the middle through a drawn-in Arizona infield to knock McCarthy (2-8) out of the game after a season-low 2 1-3 innings. He allowed eight hits and a season-high seven runs with one walk and two strikeouts while slipping to 0-5 in his past seven starts. Choo narrowly missed hitting his second home run of the game leading off the fourth inning, settling for a double off the top of the left field wall and scoring on Joey Vottos single. The Diamondbacks broke through against Leake with four runs in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Jason Kubel delivered a two-run single and Adam Eaton followed on Leakes next pitch with his second homer of the season, a 367-foot drive into the visitors bullpen. Prado added a run-scoring single off J.J. Hoover in the seventh and Gerardo Parro led off the eighth with his ninth homer, a fly ball off Jonathan Broxton that hit the top of the left field wall and bounced back onto the field before the umpires ruled it a homer after a 3:02 replay delay. "We played our tails off," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said of his offence. "They did a heck of a job." Chapman pitched more than one inning for the first time this year. He also struck out in his first major league at-bat. "He has to work on his bunting," Baker said. "We let him swing away. Hes a good athlete. He can swing the bat and is probably one of our fastest players. We hoped that he would hit one in the gap so people could see it." Notes: Chapman struck out in the eighth in his first career plate appearance. ... Broxton, who missed almost two months this season with an elbow injury, walked off the field with a Reds trainer after facing two batters in the eighth. ... Cincinnati LHP Tony Cingrani is scheduled to make his regular start on Sunday despite leaving Tuesdays game in the fourth inning with a lower back strain. ... Reds RHP Johnny Cueto, whos on his third stint on the disabled list with a strained muscle behind his right shoulder, played catch Wednesday, the first time hes thrown since going on the DL on June 29. ... RHP Trevor Cahill (4-10), who snapped a six-game losing streak with a win in Pittsburgh in his previous start, is Arizonas scheduled starter in Thursdays series finale against RHP Mat Latos (12-4). ' ' '