News & Neuigkeiten » While the field was a bit slippery at time

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the states high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylors coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.Sean Padden will serve as Baylors director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.Rhule didnt immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a masters degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didnt know yet if hed be coaching offense or defense.Given the opportunity, its really a unique deal, Wetzel told the newspaper. I feel like its Gods timing for me to be in the right place at the right time.When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didnt rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadnt had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.NOTE: Baylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylors recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Matt Bowman Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Joey Votto Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/1715s-josh-smith-jersey-reds.html . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Reds Jerseys 2019 . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Mordecai Brown Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. MEXICO CITY -- While dealing with a green laser shining in Brock Osweilers eye and the high elevation unique to a game in Mexico City, the Houston Texans feel like a few questionable spots by the officials on a key fourth-quarter drive made the difference in their loss to Oakland.Derek Carr threw his second touchdown pass of the fourth quarter shortly after a disputed fourth-down stop and the Oakland Raiders went on to beat the Texans 27-20 on Monday night in the second regular season game played in Mexico.Very tough loss, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said. We should have won the game. We are trying to win every game. You dont leave the game in the refs hands.The contest turned midway through the fourth quarter on a matter of inches for the Texans (6-4). On a third-and-2 from the Oakland 16, Lamar Miller ran wide and appeared to get the first down before being tackled by Malcolm Smith. But the officials spotted it short of the marker and coach Bill OBrien opted not to challenge.OBrien then went for it on fourth-and-inches instead of kicking the go-ahead field goal. Akeem Hunt ran up the middle and the Texans thought he got the first down, only to have it marked about an inch short . OBrien challenged this time but with no clear angle, the play was not overturned.I felt like we needed a touchdown there and obviously we did, OBrien said. And so we went for it. Thought we had it, looked like it was clear that we had it, so I challenged it and they said we didnt have it. They said the call on the field stands, so I dont know.Five plays later, Carr connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper that gave the Raiders (8-2) a 27-20 lead and sent them to their fourth straight win.The Texans were on the wrong side of another close call in the first quarter when DeAndre Hopkins took a short pass from Osweiler and ran into the end zone. But officials ruled he stepped out at the Oakland 36 after a gain of 24. The Texans were unable to challenge the play because it was blown dead and they settled for a field goal on that drive.I think weve really got to look at all those things, OBrien said. Weve goot all these cameras and we cant get that right? I didnt think Hopkins was out of bounds, but the whistle had blown, so I couldnt challenge that play.ddddddddddddWhile the disputed calls might have had a bigger impact, the green laser that kept shining in Osweilers eyes might have been the oddest part of a festive game at Azteca Stadium.I never want to say one things a difference maker, but certainly having a laser zoomed in your eyeball definitely affects how you play a game, Osweiler said.Fans here have used the laser to try to distract opponents during World Cup qualifiers, but it caught some of these football players off guard.Yeah, that was kind of weird, Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack said. I saw that and I thought I was in the Twilight Zone.While the field was a bit slippery at times and the altitude did play a factor , the first game in Mexico City since 2005 was otherwise mostly a success.It was largely a pro-Raiders crowd of 76,743 with a sizable contingent of Texans fans and a smattering of jerseys from other teams mixed in. What was originally scheduled as an Oakland home game featured Raiders music during stoppages, frequent RAI-DERS! chants and Tommie Smith lighting the Al Davis torch in a memorable return to Mexico City nearly a half-century after his Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics.The Raider Nation showed up tonight, coach Jack Del Rio said. I want to send a shoutout to the fans that showed up. It was a great atmosphere to play in.On a less celebratory note, there were also some homophobic chants during kickoffs like the ones used at soccer games on some goal kicks. Mexicos soccer federation has been punished by FIFA in the past for the chant during World Cup qualifiers.Players on both teams were in favor of more games here in the future.It was great, Clowney said. All the NFL setup was great. Most of our fan base is Hispanic, so why not bring the game to them?---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '