NEU » blem finding a home, either. Sooners fans h

BOSTON -- Jimmy Hayes emerged as an unlikely source of offense for the Bruins.Hayes scored the games only goal early in the first period and Tuukka Rask made 18 saves as Boston held on for a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.Hayes goal was his first in seven games and only his second in 28 games this season.You try to help the team whenever you can, and today I got an opportunity so its nice to cash in on one, Hayes said.It was a much-needed boost with leading scorer David Pastrnak sidelined after having right elbow surgery on Friday. Pastrnaks 19 goals rank second in the NHL behind Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby (21).Its going to be huge (for others to step up), Hayes said. A guy like that whos been scoring for us, scoring some big time goals for us on a regular basis. Youre going to need other guys to step up and thats going to have to be the mentality going forward.Bruins coach Claude Julien hopes Hayes performance serves as a spark after his sluggish start. Hayes ranked ninth on the team with 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) last season.He resembled probably the older Hayes that we had at times last year than the one weve seen this year, Julien said.Rask recorded his fourth shutout of the season for the Bruins, who improved to .500 at home (8-8-0) after losing two straight games and five of six coming in.Its one of those games that you only need one bad bounce or one really good chance for them to tie it, and today we didnt even give them that, Rask said.Rask tied Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk for the league lead in shutouts, and now has 34 for his career.Peter Budaj had 29 saves for the Kings, who had won their previous two games. Los Angeles was outshot 30-18.Hey, we just played our fourth game today in 6 1/2 days and we played our (butts) off again today, Sutter said.Sutter opted to sit the struggling Marian Gaborik, who has just one goal and three assists through nine games.We have that right in the locker room as players and coaches to have high expectations of players in terms of how they play, Sutter said.Colin Millers wrister from the top of the right circle caught a piece of Hayes stick and zipped past Budaj 4:20 into the opening period. Hayes was initially credited with an assist on Millers goal, but the call was changed. Dominic Moore also assisted on the goal.Just being in the right spot at the right time, Hayes said about his timely score.Hayes has gone 45 games without an assist dating to Feb. 22. He is three points shy of 100 for his career.Kyle Clifford went to the locker room at 3:24 of the third after taking a hit from the Bruins Adam McQuaid while chasing a puck in the corner. He returned later in the period.NOTES. Pastrnak is expected to miss at least one more game. ... Bruins D Kevan Miller returned after missing Thursdays game with the flu. ... Kings D Brayden McNabb (broken collarbone) practiced Saturday for the first time since his Oct. 29 injury. He likely will not play for the rest of the Kings road trip. ... D Colin Miller was a fifth-round draft pick of Los Angles in 2012. He was traded to Boston in a package for LW Milan Lucic on June 26, 2015. ... The Bruins assigned D Matt Grzelcyk to AHLs Providence on Saturday.UP NEXTKings: At Columbus on Tuesday night in the fifth of nine straight games away from home.Bruins: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night in the finale of a three-game homestand.Curley Culp Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Bruce Matthews Jersey . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Earl-campbell-titans-jersey/ . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Warren Moon Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Kevin Byard Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.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.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 112 paid out $30.dddddddddddd2 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 ' ' '