Clan-Members » He was the organizations minor league pitching coordinator

Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy was part of South Floridas pitch to the Big 12, and former major league first baseman Tino Martinez also went to bat for the Bulls.The Big 12 concluded a week of meetings Friday in North Texas with the 11 schools vying to join the conference. USF, Cincinnati and Rice made the final presentations, according to three people with knowledge of the meetings who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was keeping its meetings confidential.According to a person familiar with USFs pitch, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik was part of the five-person team, led by university president Judy Genshaft, the school sent to Texas.USFs presentation included a video with Dungy, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts coach, and Martinez, a Tampa native, endorsing the Bulls, the person said.I think the Big 12 would be surprised to know how many people in the Tampa area are really behind the USF Bulls, Dungy said, according to an excerpt provided to the AP. There are so many sports fans here that just love the university and love to see college athletics.Dungys son, Eric, played football for USF in 2014.USF is definitely ready, said Martinez, who played 16 seasons in the majors with Seattle, the New York Yankees, St. Louis and Tampa Bay.USF plays its home games in Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers and the site of this seasons College Football Playoff championship game.The Big 12 is also considering Air Force, BYU, Central Florida, Colorado State, Connecticut, Houston, SMU and Tulane. The conference has not committed to expansion, but commissioner Bob Bowlsby has said it is exploring the possibility of adding two or four new members to the 10-team league.There has been no timetable set for the Big 12 to make a decision, but the conferences university presidents are scheduled for a regular meeting Oct. 19. China Shoes For Sale . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Cheap Shoes Fake .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. https://www.fakeshoesonline.com/ . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Replica Shoes Online . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. Fake Shoes Free Shipping . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. The Cincinnati Reds, who entered Mondays games with a major league-worst 5.51 ERA, fired pitching coach Mark Riggins.The team said in a statement that Riggins, 59, would be replaced by assistant pitching coach/bullpen coach Mack Jenkins.?Ted Power, the pitching coach at the Reds Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, will fill Jenkins role with the major league team.This was Riggins first season as the Reds pitching coach. He was the organizations minor league pitching coordinator the past four seasons.Mark was a valuable member of this organization for several years. Before he accepted the job with our major league team, he contributed to the development of many of our successful young pitchers in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, the pitching on our big league staff has not improved over the course of the season as we had hoped, and it is time for a new voice, Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty said in a statement.We are not satisfied with the performance so far this season and will continue to look for ways to improve. We felt it was necessary to make a change in order to accomplish our goals of providing our young pitchers with thhe best possible resources, Jocketty added.ddddddddddddJocketty said he hopes Riggins will remain with the organization in some capacity. He credited Riggins for helping develop young pitchers in the minors but pointed to a lack of improvement at the major league level.We brought some guys up here probably before they were ready because we just didnt have a veteran, Jocketty said.We tried to acquire a veteran or two to stabilize the staff but werent successful. Part of the blame rests with us, the front office. We havent been able to find the right pieces.After dropping 98 games last season, the Reds are threatening the franchise record of 101 losses, set in 1982. They traded two key starters in former 20-game winner Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake last July. They then dealt closer Aroldis Chapman and Home Run Derby champion Todd Frazier during the offseason.The rotation has been hit with injuries this season, and Homer Bailey is recovering from Tommy John surgery last year.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '