cheap nike jordans-Jamell Fleming ready for Arizona Cardinals' camp

Jamell Fleming will play a lot for the Arizona Cardinals in his rookie season, whether the former Oklahoma cornerback starts or not. Having made a strong impression at voluntary workouts and a three-day minicamp, Fleming will be one of four cornerbacks competing for the starting job opposite Patrick Peterson, the fifth player selected overall a year ago. Jamell Fleming was a third round pick of the Arizona Cardinals. AP photos Multimedia Photoview all photos Article Gallery: Jamell Fleming ready for Arizona Cardinals' camp “I'm just trying to learn the playbook, including nickel (packages) and be ready to contribute on special teams,” Fleming said. “I feel I have the potential to be a starting corner in the NFL at some point. I just have to take it step by step.” The first step arrives Tuesday, when the Cardinals report for training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. Fleming will compete for the starting left cornerback vacancy against William Gay, a five-year veteran who started the past two years with the Steelers; Greg Toler, who was contending for the job last year before suffering a torn ACL; and A.J. Jefferson, who lost the job after seven games last year. Regardless who emerges as the starter, the Cardinals frequently play four cornerbacks when facing multiple-receiver sets. “(Fleming) has been a productive player in a big-time program,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt was quoted following minicamp. “That thing that really jumped off film was his quickness. Watching him doing inside in the nickel, his change of direction is really outstanding.” Playing inside in Arizona's nickel and dime packages most likely will be Fleming's role his rookie season. Fleming (5-foot-11, 203 pounds) has good size to play in the middle. Selected in the third round, the 80th overall selection, Fleming believes his two years as a starter at OU in the pass-happy Big 12 will help him adapt. “Just trying to learn the playbook as fast you can is probably the biggest adjustment,” Fleming said. “They expect you to learn everything.” Arizona didn't have a second-round pick. The Cardinals' most pressing need was the offensive line, but they selected Fleming with their second selection, stating he was a second-round talent that slipped to the third round. “When you talk about a guy who can play inside or outside, those guys have to be physical,” Whisenhunt said. “The bigger they are, the more difficult it makes it for the offense. I'm interested to see how that translates. His physical skill set is a good match for that.” Fleming, who finished fifth on the team in tackles his junior and senior seasons, is physical. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times at the NFL Combine. That's why Fleming is surprised when some have questioned his tackling skills. “It's funny because I've had games where I led the team in tackles,” Fleming said. “Sometimes I'd have a game where I had 11 tackles and two interceptions. In the NFL, you have to be able to do both. But the real big thing is your coverage against receivers.” That's Fleming's primary strength. He was second nationally in passes defended his junior season and also recorded five interceptions. He was named All-Big 12 last season. Fleming said he's excited for the start of camp after getting a taste of the NFL during offseason workouts. He's already been matched a few times in practice against All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. “I think that will help me a lot,” Fleming said. “He runs the best routes in the league.

jordans retro-Kobe the star when US basketball team goes abroad

 BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — They carry cameras and microphones, sprinting toward Kobe Bryant like Christmas shoppers who just spotted the "it" gift sitting on shelves. Multimedia Photoview all photos Article Gallery: Kobe the star when US basketball team goes abroad Their questions come quickly, some in English, many in Spanish, and Bryant gives the perfect answer every time. Yes, Spain is an incredible team that can pose problems for the U.S. No, Pau Gasol isn't getting traded from the Lakers as long as he is there. The only thing Bryant can't seem to explain to reporters is why he's so much more popular than his teammates on the Olympic basketball team. "I don't know. I don't know where it comes from or how that happens," he said Saturday with a laugh. "It all started with the Dream Team in terms of basketball becoming so global. When I came into the NBA, I kind of inherited kind of the globalization of the game, and then having grown up overseas they really kind of laid claim to me because this is where I learned how to play the game, is overseas." Chris Paul figures Bryant owes it to the way he's won and carried himself through the years — along with one other thing. "A lot of it's got to do, too, that he plays for the Lakers. I learned that, too, I learned that quick," Paul said. "Everywhere you go, shoot, the Lakers, they never play a road game. Only time they might play a road game now is in Oklahoma City." Bryant is not the best player on the U.S. team, probably just cracking the top three at this stage of his career. Yet for as good as LeBron James, Kevin Durant or any other U.S. player is, none draws the attention of Bryant once the Americans leave home. "Well, he's been doing it for 16 years in the NBA and in those 16 years the accomplishments are incredible. I mean, they're worthy of a top-five player in the history of the game, really," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And then he's been so visible, been all over the world. In others words, he's traveled all over in the offseason. Even when we're on this tour, he's a guy that gets out, meets people. I think he has just made a commitment to being out there and as a result, you know, people follow him." The Americans still marvel at the frenzy surrounding Bryant four years ago in Beijing. U.S. assistant Mike D'Antoni once joked that the thunderous "Kobe! Kobe!" chants during the opening ceremonies had even James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony going, "What are we, potted plants?" Bryant had made multiple promotional trips to the Far East by then and kept going out even during the Olympics to see other sports. He was already better known than most players because of all his All-Star appearances and five NBA championships. 

retro jordans-Big 12 Conference must let Bob Bowlsby lead

 IRVING, Texas — In the wake of the Penn State scandal, the Big Ten Conference produced an 18-page plan that included a stunning proposal. New Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby wears a cap at the news conference introducing him to the media at Big 12 headquarters Friday, May 4, 2012, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) ORG XMIT: TXMO104 Multimedia Photoview all photos Article Gallery: Big 12 Conference must let Bob Bowlsby lead Give commissioner Jim Delany the power to fire football coaches. When the idea hit the public square, the Big Ten quickly backtracked and said that proposal would not be considered by league fathers. But merely the discussion of such a concept shows the difference in philosophy from the Big 12 and peer leagues like the Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12. Those conferences have anointed their commissioners with power. The Big 12 has been slow to allow its commissioner to make important conference decisions, much less institutional decisions. And that's been the case historically, going back to the old Big Eight and Southwest Conference days. So as the Big 12 starts the Bob Bowlsby era — he took office July 1 and greets us Monday with a press conference at Big 12 Football Media Days across town at the Westin Galleria — it's fair to ask if anything has changed. In the wake of two straight years of defections — Colorado and Nebraska in 2011, Missouri and Texas A&M in 2012 — will Big 12 politics evolve? Will Bowlsby centralize power in a conference that always has been run by the school presidents? Will Bowlsby take the lead on visionary decisions like conference expansion and media ventures, or will he merely be executor of whatever the 10 presidents want? “I don't think Dan Beebe was a puppet by any means,” OSU president Burns Hargis, the current Big 12 chairman, said of the Big 12 commissioner deposed last September. “And I can assure you that being a puppet was not part of the qualifications we were looking for in our job description.” I'll accept the latter. Can't accept the former. Beebe clearly was fired because some Big 12 schools saw him as a figurehead controlled by the University of Texas. Personally, I don't think that was a fair description, but clearly it was the belief of some, including OU president David Boren. Of course, there's a big difference between puppet and weak. I do think Beebe was a weak commissioner, not because he was incapable of quality leadership, but because this league's tradition and desire has been weak leadership. The greatest example ever, of course, was former commissioner Kevin Weiberg, who pushed for a Big 12 Network. League leaders — from Texas and OU and Nebraska and A&M — patted Weiberg on the head and told him to scoot along. You know what happened next. Weiberg resigned and helped the Big Ten launch its cash-cow network. Institutional endeavors, like The Longhorn Network, helped splinter the Big 12. But perhaps there is reason for optimism. Bowlsby did not take kindly to the inference that he will be less than a Delany or a Mike Slive (SEC) or a Larry Scott (Pac-12). “I would suggest you do a little homework on me,” Bowlsby said. “I haven't been a puppet over the years.” Bowlsby suggested his background — 16 years as athletic director at Iowa, six years as AD at Stanford — provides him the unique vantage point of being on board for the Big Ten's remarkable financial growth and Scott's recent transformation of the Pac-12 from a loosely confederated league to a united power broker. Plus, Bowlsby has the added bonus of experiencing it from places as diverse as Iowa City and Palo Alto. “I bring a campus perspective,” Bowlsby said.