round." Notes: Lagares is 27 for 81 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs since the All-Star break after going 2 for 4. ... Parra made a diving catch near the foul line in right to rob Buck of a hit in the eighth inning. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese will make his first start in Sundays series finale

Kyle Whittingham still answers the phone in his office.Call it a mid-major work ethic. He has coached at Utah for 22 years, the past 12 seasons as the head coach. Since 2011, he has been the leader of a Pac-12 program.At Utah, one of a dozen schools nationally that have landed new homes or shifted seats inside the Power 5 ranks of college football during the most recent round of conference realignment, old habits pay off in producing stability.?Seven of the 12 programs that started anew in the Power 5 from 2011 to 2014 have changed coaches since their latest league debuts.Its not an overnight process, but we felt the impact right away, said Whittingham, whose program won six league games last season for the first time in its short Pac-12 history. And now, the ripple effect has permeated the whole university and the community. Theres just a whole different feel around Salt Lake City.As the Big 12 presidents and chancellors meet Monday to ponder the next step after the leagues evaluation of candidates for membership, heres what we know from looking back: Not all the stories end well.The Big 12 appears reticent, at best, to restart this train. Even if it stands pat, of course, Power 5 realignment is not dead. When it happens next, the schools involved will face struggles in adjusting. As the latest episode of seismic change illustrated, the grass is not always greener on the other side of a league border -- even when the other side has more money, prestige and a higher ceiling.I knew what I was getting into, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said of the Mountaineers 2012 jump from the Big East to the Big 12. But I dont think anyone else did around here.Conference expansion works best when it isnt a cash grab or a marriage of convenience. For those who navigate a Power 5 move with precision, a plan and, perhaps most importantly, an undistorted self-image, the rewards have proven great.Utah, TCU and Louisville unquestionably sit in better spots nationally than they did before their conference shifts. Pitt also appears on an upswing.Colorado, which resurfaced in the top 25 this month after limping to a 5-40 mark in its first five seasons since leaving the Big 12. Texas A&M, Nebraska and West Virginia, despite strong starts in 2016, have not consistently matched the success they achieved before their conference shifts.Missouri found its footing with SEC East titles in 2013 and 2014 but faces uncertainty with a first-year coach. Although its early in Dino Babers tenure at Syracuse, the Orange finally showed some life in the ACC with an upset of Virginia Tech. For Rutgers and Maryland, also under new coaches, its too soon to predict long-term results in situations that are more challenging than their former league positions.The leap to Power 5 status -- none of the 11 Big 12 final candidates currently competes in a major conference -- is often long and treacherous.Look at Louisville, which journeyed from Conference USA in 1996 to the Big East in 2005 to the AAC in 2013, after the Big 12 rejected it. Athletic director Tom Jurich, in place since 1997, learned from the earlier moves that Louisville had to be ready for realignment before the hint of an opening. He strived to keep four areas, above all else, in order at Louisville: academic support and performance, facilities, gender equity and coaching.If you have those things in line for, its going to work out well for you, Jurich said.In November 2012, less than two weeks after Jurich learned of the ACCs interest in the Cardinals, Louisville accepted an offer from commissioner John Swofford to join the league.Greatest day in the schools history, he said.But he didnt rest there. Jurich divided responsibility among senior administrators at the school to create three large manuals that evaluated every aspect of the schools in the ACC, plus Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame, which joined for all but football. They examined budgets, academics, salaries, the dollar amount spent per student-athlete, facilities and recent upgrades.What did they have that we didnt have? Jurich said. I didnt want to waste one second. Weve got 310 coaches and administrators, and they knew that this was the top priority for me to come in and hit the ground running because I didnt want to fail at anything.In football alone, Louisville has rewarded the ACC with a playoff-contending program this fall and a Heisman Trophy front-runner in quarterback Lamar Jackson.Like Louisville, TCU traveled a windy road to reach the Power 5. It joined the WAC when the Southwest Conference disintegrated in 1996, then moved to Conference USA in 2001, then the Mountain West in 2005, then agreed to join the Big East before the Big 12 offered a spot in October 2011.We were well-prepared from that odyssey to get back to where we always wanted to be, TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte said, and that was the premier conference in our region, the Big 12. Every single move allowed us a chance to grow and improve athletically and fiscally. We came in with a plan to compete for championships.Through all of it, the best thing to happen at TCU, Del Conte said, was rejection from the Big 12 two decades ago. That forced administrators and coaches to look inward and construct a plan to upgrade the infrastructure of their athletic program.It doesnt matter how you do it, as long as youve got a good plan, said TCU coach Gary Patterson, who is 17-4 in Big 12 play since 2014. And [the plan] is for down the road. Its not for right now.Think big, Patterson said. The strategy has also aided Colorado in its escape from a brutal stretch of football that dates to its final five years in the Big 12. The Buffaloes havent finished with a winning record since the 2005 season.Contrary to some versions of revisionist history, unlike others, the school did not flee the Big 12 out of spite for Texas in 2011,?said associate AD David Plati, who has been employed by Colorado since 1978. The Pac-10, in fact, had long courted Colorado.We had no issues with Texas, Plati said. We had no issues with anybody. We played a significant role in forming the Big 12, a fact that seems to be lost on some people. Thats why we didnt leave [earlier]. The No. 1 reason we left is because our alumni base is West Coast-centered and in Colorado.Within three years of joining the Pac-12, the school increased fundraising in California by more than tenfold, Plati said. This year, for the first time, all of Colorados fall sports have been nationally ranked. Academically, Colorado immediately fit better in the Pac-12 than it did in the Big 12. That included joining ventures such as the collaboration with Arizona State and Cal to design a Mars orbiter.Similar big thinking drove Nebraskas 2011 move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers saw their travel budget jump by approximately $1 million in their first year in the new league and by more in subsequent years, Nebraska executive associate AD Marc Boehm said.Officials from the Big Ten visited Nebraska many times in the 2010 and 2011 seasons to ease the adjustment.It was a huge deal for us to understand their culture, Boehm said. It laid out a roadmap of what was on its way.The assimilation efforts were born from trial and error after the Big Ten offered less assistance to Penn State ahead of its 1993 debut.Conversely, in the wake of the 2011 and 2012 departures from the Big 12, the league offered only minimal guidance for TCU before its entry, said Del Conte, the eighth-year athletic director. That was OK because the Horned Frogs came with a plan.We knew what our neighbors had, Del Conte said.How well did West Virginia, Syracuse, Rutgers and Maryland know? How well do the next set of Big 12 expansion candidates know?The events of Monday might tell us if those questions are to remain relevant. NFL Jerseys China . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . PAUL, Minn. http://www.wholesalenflcheapjerseys.com/ . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . 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. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. PHOENIX -- Wilmer Flores has yet to find a consistent groove with the bat during his limited time in the majors, at least going by his .211 average. But when he comes up with runners in scoring position, watch out. Flores drove in three runs to extend his RBI streak to four games, Zack Wheeler pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 on Saturday. Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, Flores had a run-scoring single off Brandon McCarthy (2-6) in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the eighth. Thats eight RBIs in his first five games in the majors for the 22-year-old Venezuelan. "He doesnt strike out. Im sure he will one of these days, but he puts the bat on the ball," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "People are yelling hes hitting .167, but look up, hes got 18 at-bats and six RBIs (before Saturday). A lot of guys on this team would take six RBIs every 18 at-bats." New York lost the series opener on a walk-off homer by Paul Goldschmidt. The Mets held off the Diamondbacks in the second game behind Flores, Wheeler and some clutch performances by their bullpen. Wheeler (5-2) did his part, allowing a solo home run to Aaron Hill and little else over 6 1-3 innings to bounce back from a shaky outing previous start. Scott Rice followed him and got Adam Eaton to ground out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning. Flores put New York up 4-1 with a two-single to left off David Hernandez, but Arizona fought back, loading the bases in the bottom half against Carlos Torres. Pedro Feliciano put a quick end to that threat by striking out Gerardo Parra looking. LaTroy Hawkins then finished it off, striking out Martin Prado with on runner on second in the ninth for his third save in five chances and 900th career strikeout. Arizona stranded 10 baserunners and ended the night 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. "We didnt capitalize on our opportunities," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. Wheeler had something to do with it. The rookie right-hander struggled in his last outing, giving up four earned runs and seven hits in five innings of a loss to the Royals last Sunday. Wheeler was sharp against the Diamondbacks, keeping them off-balance with his mid-90s fastball and looping currveball while avoiding walks -- a rarity this season.dddddddddddd. He worked around baserunners four times in the first five innings and got a lift from catcher John Buck in the sixth, when he reached over the rail to catch a foul pop-up by Martin Prado. Wheeler finally made a mistake in the seventh inning, when Hill fouled off a couple of two-strike pitches before hitting a curveball just out of left fielder Chris Youngs reach for a homer that cut New Yorks lead to 2-1. Wil Nieves followed with a one-out single and Wheeler was replaced by Scott Rice, who got Adam Eaton to ground out with the bases loaded to end the inning. Wheeler allowed six hits and didnt walk a batter after walking at least two in each of his first nine starts. "The past three starts, since Miami, I just found something," Wheeler said. "I dont know what it is, but its flowing right now. It feels good and allows me to throw downhill." McCarthy, in his second start off the DL, got through the first three innings before Juan Lagares led off the fourth with a line-drive homer that just cleared the wall into the pool deck in right-centre. Ike Davis then doubled off the wall and Flores knocked him with a single to put the Mets up 2-0. McCarthy was good after that, getting Flores to ground out with runners on second and third in the sixth inning before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh. He allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four. "I felt pretty good," said McCarthy, who went on the DL on May 31 with shoulder inflammation. "The few pitches that I would like to have back, but overall I felt that I did a good job of commanding the ball and kind of moving them around." Notes: Lagares is 27 for 81 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs since the All-Star break after going 2 for 4. ... Parra made a diving catch near the foul line in right to rob Buck of a hit in the eighth inning. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese will make his first start in Sundays series finale since going on the DL with a partial rotator cuff tear on June 21. He is 1-2 with a 6.85 ERA in four career starts against the Diamondbacks. ... 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