Offtopic/fun » 2012 when the American was still th

The AFLs greatest modern rivalry is back where it matters most, with Geelong playing Hawthorn in the finals.Their previous 19 games makes Friday nights qualifying final at the MCG the most intriguing clash of the weekend.The Cats strong finish to the regular season means they are the slight favourites, but form is irrelevant.The three-time defending premiers are guaranteed to be ready, given it is the finals and the opposition is Geelong.Between them, Hawthorn and Geelong have won seven of the last nine premierships.Their rivalry started when the Hawks upset the Cats to win the 2008 premiership.The loss infuriated Geelong and their players made a private pact never to lose to Hawthorn again.Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett then claimed before their next match at the start of the 2009 season that Geelong lacked his teams mental drive.Geelong won the next 11 matches and the streak became known as the Kennett Curse.It only ended once Kennett had resigned as Hawks president.Hawthorn beat Geelong by five points in the 2013 preliminary final and a week later, took out the first of their three-straight premierships with the grand final win over Fremantle.In 2014-15, the Hawks had built a five-game winning streak over the Cats.But that was snapped in round one this year when Patrick Dangerfield made the mother of all club debuts.The former Adelaide star racked up 43 possessions for Geelong in their 30-point win.Hes a great player but ... theyve got enormous depth through the middle of the ground, said Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson.Its no secret that its going to be a key battle for the contest.If we can get enough supply in that part of the ground then we give ourselves a chance.But in the only game weve played this year theyve won that battle and it cost us the game.Hawthorn have regained Ben Stratton and Ben McEvoy, while Geelong recalled Scott Selwood for a likely stopping role on Sam Mitchell.Forecast rain on Friday could also force a late change or two. John Beasley Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Louie Dampier Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. https://www.cheapspurs.com/ . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Joe Hamilton Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Keldon Johnson Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. 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 actinng like woe is me.dddddddddddd 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/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '