Für unsere Gäste » dos and donts. Players were pre

The teams that finished at the bottom of college basketballs power conferences in 2016 are looking for early signs this year will be different.The number of Power Five teams with at least 15 league regular-season losses has doubled from four in 2012-13 to eight last year: Boston College and Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference; the Big 12s Oklahoma State and TCU; the Big Tens Minnesota and Rutgers; Missouri in the Southeastern Conference; and the Pac-12s Washington State.That group is off to a 29-7 start through Tuesdays games and desperate to build momentum in the seasons opening month.ESPN analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas said more teams sliding so far back in their leagues -- whether due to a brief dip or long-running struggles -- illustrates how climbing the standings is harder now than its ever been after realignment created bigger and tougher conferences.If you dont make the (NCAA Tournament) in a certain number of years, the coach is getting fired in these big leagues, Bilas said. The next guy gets four or five years and they fire him. Then all of a sudden youve got a 14-year drought. Its hard.---A look at those teams:BOSTON COLLEGEInjuries, youth and what BC coach Jim Christian called a piecemeal roster led to an 0-18 ACC record and a 7-25 mark for a program with one winning season since firing Al Skinner in 2010. Picked last in the ACC again, the Eagles (3-1) lost their home opener to Nicholls State.It cant be done overnight, Christian said. So its going to have to be done by getting the right kind of guys, getting them in the system they believe in and letting them grow together.MINNESOTAIts been bumpy for Richard Pitino, whose Gophers slid from 25 wins to 18 and then eight in his three seasons. Off-court incidents have also led to several player departures.With six new players, the Gophers have started 5-0 amid pressure on Pitino to show progress.Last year was very, very difficult for everybody, Pitino said. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about.MISSOURIMissouri is on shaky footing under third-year coach Kim Anderson, though it did take highly ranked Xavier to overtime last week.The Tigers (2-2) have finished 3-15 in the SEC for two straight years and sat out last years postseason due to a self-imposed ban for NCAA violations under Frank Haith. Several players have also left or were dismissed in the past year.OKLAHOMA STATEThe Cowboys appear to be more of a one-year outlier in this group.Injuries to Big 12 freshman of the year Jawun Evans and Phil Forte led to a 3-15 league mark after five NCAA trips in seven years.Under new coach Brad Underwood, Evans ranks among the nations best by averaging 27 points in an offense averaging nearly 99 points. Picked seventh in the Big 12, Oklahoma State started 4-0 and beat Connecticut in the Maui Invitational before losing to fourth-ranked North Carolina late Tuesday.RUTGERSThe Scarlet Knights havent been to the NCAAs since 1991 while their last winning record came in 2006. Now they have their seventh coach since the last NCAA trip in Steve Pikiell and a 3-33 two-year record in the Big Ten.The good news: Rutgers (4-0) entered Wednesdays game against North Texas with its best start since going 5-0 in 2001.TCUFormer Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is increasing tempo and having success on the recruiting trail for his alma mater, which is off to a 4-0 start. Still, its going to be a long climb for the Horned Frogs, who havent been to the NCAAs since 1998, own an 8-64 Big 12 record in four seasons and are picked last again.WAKE FORESTThe Demon Deacons beat Indiana, UCLA, Arkansas and LSU in nonconference play, but their young roster couldnt stop a 2-16 freefall in ACC play -- most notably by blowing a 10-point late lead and losing on a banked-in buzzer shot to then-No. 11 Virginia.In its third year under Danny Manning, Wake Forest (4-1) entered Wednesdays game against Coastal Carolina averaging 86.4 points with their only loss coming to reigning NCAA champion Villanova.WASHINGTON STATEThe Cougars (3-2) were a Top 25 program under Tony Bennett, but they havent been to the NCAAs since Bennett left for Virginia in 2009. Now third-year coach Ernie Kent is coming off a 1-17 season in Pac-12 play.Its a year we need to make a positive step, and were well aware of that, Kent said during last weeks Paradise Jam tournament. Its not a make-or-break year for us. We know what were doing and we know where were going.---AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis; and AP freelancer Bill Kiser in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25Oskar Lindblom Flyers Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Ivan Provorov Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/brian-propp-hockey-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. Ivan Provorov Flyers Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Shayne Gostisbehere Jersey . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson spent enough time working with the NFL this year on its message to players about conduct that he wasnt expecting to be so personally engaged by it. Yet there he was, after the Ravens mandatory training hour last week, discussing childrens safety -- and guns.This is the third year the NFL has had social responsibility training, but its the first time the league added a discussion about gun ownership and the importance of safe storage of weapons.We hear these horror stories all the time about a child that finds a firearm and who shoots and hurts themselves, or kills someone else, Watson said. And youd hate for that to happen because its so preventable. Im glad they added that myself, as a father of five.This season, the training was pared down and changed as the league shifts from responding to the Ray Rice situation and domestic violence to a more interactive format. Players viewed videos (one, for example, showed a drunken driver swerving a car all over the road) and were asked to discuss.Weve never presented the issue from a social responsibility perspective before, said Anna Isaacson, the NFLs vice president of social responsibility. These were crucial societal issues that people just didnt know enough about, and we felt that it was our duty, and it was the right thing to do, to make sure that everyone in the NFL family had the same knowledge, so that we were all on an even playing field and we all had the same information.This year in the offseason, Denvers Aqib Talib suffered a gunshot wound in Dallas, and former Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed?during a traffic altercation in New Orleans.Ever since Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg when he was a wide receiver for the Giants, NFL teams have hosted presentations by law enforcement officials about local laws on owning and carrying weapons. Burress, who was not licensed to carry a concealed weapon in New York, served 20 months in jail.The NFL has recommended that players stay away from gun ownership, but Sean Taylors 2007 death during a robbery at home still lingers, and NFL players know they can be targeted for their wealth.Because of the Second Amendment, Watson ssaid, the NFL cant tell you [that] you cant have a gun, because youre a citizen of this country.ddddddddddddSo the league is discussing gun safety through the prism of child shooting tragedies.About a third of teams have completed the sessions. Parts of the presentations still focus on domestic violence. Watson is featured in one of the videos, discussing a moment when he saw a woman in a convenience store. She appeared to be hurt and was lingering inside, apparently to avoid returning to a car and its driver.The discussion follows. Could he really assume violence had occurred? Should he have called anyone? What was his obligation to that woman? What would he risk for intervening?He spoke from the heart and its a real situation. People can imagine being in that situation and not knowing what to do, Isaacson said. What Ive heard from the feedback is, thats really hard. The point of that video is to spark that ongoing dialogue because theres no solution, theres no easy answer. ... Its important that we think through them.Of the sessions Watson said, Having a conversation is a way to engage in a nonthreatening manner.The NFLs previous training on domestic violence emphasized dos and donts. Players were presented with statistics and a discussion of the definition of consent in sexual situations.But there was some negative feedback from players who felt it was a bit patronizing and targeted them for an issue they might never intersect with.Watson discussed it with his wife, Kirsten.My wife, in her wisdom, told me, No matter the reason theyre doing it, if it changes one mans mind as hes about to hurt his wife or girlfriend, then its worth it, Watson said.Watson, who is entering his 13th NFL season, said he has seen change since the league began frankly discussing violence -- not just among players, but as a whole in the culture. And he emphasized that continuing the training is important, given how often new players come into the league.We were moving at lightning speed, Isaacson said of that first year. Weve spent a full year planning for this years education. ' ' '