Bewerbungen » s, Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chairman

RIO DE JANEIRO -- As she wobbled along on a flat tire four years ago in London, Gwen Jorgensen promised to turn that heartbreak at Hyde Park into a conquering of Copacabana Beach at the Rio Games.She crushed both the course and the competition Saturday, giving the U.S. its first Olympic triathlon gold medal by cruising across the finish line in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 16 seconds.That was 40 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, who won gold at the 2012 Games after Jorgensens flat tire relegated her to a 38th-place finish.Vicky Holland outsprinted British teammate Non Stanford for the bronze.Jorgensen and Spirig were even until Jorgensen made her move with 2 kilometers left in the 10K final leg that followed a steep, 38.5K bike ride and a one-loop ocean swim.As she approached the blue carpet, Jorgensen turned to look for Spirig, who wasnt even in view around the bend.Her goal within her grasp, Jorgensen lifted her sunglasses to her head and that look of dogged determination shed had since London dissolved into a smile.After crossing the finish line, she reached down and grabbed the green, gold and blue ribbon and held it high above her head in triumph before breaking down in tears.She said she was thinking of all the sacrifices, not just hers, but those of coach Jamie Turner and her husband, Patrick Lemieux, who abandoned his pro cycling career to serve as her operations manager .Ive been pretty vocal about my goal for the past four years. After London, I said I wanted to go to Rio and I wanted to win gold, Jorgensen said. And for anyone thats been around me, they know how much my husband Patrick has invested. Hes given up his career to support me. And then I also have Jamie Turner, who Ive been on this four-year journey with and hes done so much for me.Just thinking about all the investments theyve put into me and thinking about the four years, it all came down to one day, Jorgensen said. And to be able to actually execute on that day is pretty amazing.Jorgensen didnt just fulfill her pledge she made four years ago but she checked off a bucket list box shed long ago erased when she realized she was too slow in the pool to ever be an Olympian.After an All-American track career at the University of Wisconsin, where she also was on the swim team for three years, Jorgensen settled into her first job as an accountant for Ernst & Young in Milwaukee in 2010.One day, the phone rang. It was Barb Lindquist, who was running USA Triathlons college recruitment program. She suggested Jorgensen would be perfect for the sport that combines swimming, cycling and running.Jorgensen didnt even realize triathlon had been added to the Olympic program a decade earlier.She agreed to give triathlon a try and quickly realized she was indeed a natural.She took it up fulltime and has emerged as the best female in the world, collecting 17 career wins in the World Triathlon Series and winning back-to-back ITU world championships before cutting back this year in the lead-up to Rio.On the course where she also won the Olympic qualifying race a year ago, Jorgensen used her superior hill climbing skills to make up a 12-second deficit coming out of the water, surpassing almost all of the 22 racers whod been faster getting ashore in choppy water.By the time she dismounted she was just two seconds behind leader Lisa Norden of Sweden and immediately broke away with Spirig, setting the pace.They took turns drafting until the final 2 kilometers, when they exchanged words and Jorgensen took off.Nicola and I were playing some games, neither of us wanted to lead in the headwind, so it made it exciting for fans, Jorgensen said.Gracious in defeat, Spirig, the only female triathlete with multiple Olympic gold medals, congratulated Jorgensen for not flinching.I tried to tire her out on the bike. I tried to stick with her on the run, Spirig said. I did everything right and she still won, so she definitely deserves the gold.Just 30, Jorgensen would be the favorite in Tokyo in 2020, too.Ive had a four-year plan and Im definitely a planner, Jorgensen said. But I have zero plans for Aug. 21st, so wait and find out.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed. Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapletonKiko Alonso Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Michael Lewis Jersey .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/ . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Johnson Bademosi Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Michael Thomas JerseyAmong the knocks this summer against Big 12 expansion has been that bringing in a school from outside the traditional Power 5 would just dilute the league on the field.Which would seem to make sense.After all, one program that is outside the Big 12, for example, has won just six games in the past three seasons. It hasnt finished a season ranked since 2003 and has enjoyed a double-digit winning season just once, well, ever.That particular profile, however, doesnt square up with that of Big 12 expansion hopefuls BYU or Houston. Nor does it match Central or South Florida.In fact, it doesnt even fit Tulane.The school in question is Purdue, obviously not an expansion candidate, but a member of the Big Ten since before Teddy Roosevelt became president. And on football reputation alone, the Boilermakers dont stack up against many of the candidates the Big 12 is considering for expansion.Several points do, however, hold up when arguing against Big 12 expansion.Proximity and logistics, for one. Cincinnati; Orlando, Florida; and Provo, Utah, are all a thousand-plus miles from the Big 12 offices in Dallas. Such a marriage would create travel and scheduling complications for the conference.Specific candidates have their distinct downsides off the field, as well. Memphis doesnt boast a strong academic reputation. Connecticut struggles to draw fans to its stadium. BYU doesnt compete on Sundays and now has LGBT groups protesting its candidacy over the schools honor code.But the premise that expansion would absolutely dilute the Big 12 product on the field doesnt hold much water.Look no further than last weeks Associated Press all-time college football rankings. Instead of simply falling back on conventional perceptions, the AP relied solely on statistics and used poll appearances, No. 1 rankings and AP championships to compile its list.As a result, BYU came in at No. 34 on the AP ranking, which placed the Cougars ahead of 32 Power 5 programs. At 49th, Houston was slotted ahead of 19 Power 5 schools.As the AP poll underscored, BYU and Houston, especially, have thrived on the field, both in the past and in the present -- including relative to many of their Power 5 cohorts.Since 1980, only Ohio State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Florida State, Florida and Miami have won more games than BYU, and the Buckeyes (first), Sooners (second), Cornhuskers (sixth), Seminoles (ninth), Gators (10th) and Hurricanes (13th) all placed in the top 15 of the APs all-time ranking. BYU also captured the national champpionship in 1984 -- something just 29 other schools have ever accomplished in the history of the sport.ddddddddddddut even as college football autonomy has produced a wider gap between the Power 5 and everyone else financially in recent years, BYU has remained stout. Over the past decade, the Cougars have collected wins over Oregon, Utah, TCU, Arizona, UCLA, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Ole Miss, Washington State, Georgia Tech, Texas, Virginia, Cal and Nebraska.By comparison, the Boilermakers have only two wins over ranked opponents in that span. Fellow Big Ten member Illinois claims just four. Minnesota has three. Indiana has two. And Maryland and Rutgers have yet to record such a victory since joining the Big Ten.Conversely, Houston has four top-25 victories in 2015 alone, capped with a 38-24 romp over ninth-ranked Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in December.Thats not the only area the Big 12 expansion candidates stack up well.During the past decade, Houston, South Florida, Central Florida, BYU, Cincinnati and Boise State have all been ranked in the top 10 of the polls at least once.Neither Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina State, Wake Forest nor Virginia can claim such a distinction from the ACC. The same goes for Washington, Washington State and Colorado in the Pac-12.Shortly after the Big 12 announced it would explore expansion last month and that it had authorized commissioner Bob Bowlsby to begin negotiating with prospective candidates, Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chairman David Boren listed five core criteria through which the league would gauge candidates: competitiveness of the athletic programs, academic standards, fan bases, access to media markets and overall reputations.Through that prism, every expansion candidate exudes glaring negatives, which is why all of them remain available despite several previous rounds of conference realignments that could have placed them in the Power 5. Ultimately, this is why the Big 12 has endured such a difficult time agreeing to expand. And why agreeing on candidates could prove to be even more challenging.But simply based on competitiveness, the Big 12 need not fret. Expansion candidates wont necessarily dilute the conference on the field.At least no more than Colorado has the Pac-12.Or NC State, the ACC.Or the Boilermakers, for the majority of a century now, the Big Ten. ' ' '