News » lected to rest starters Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Toliver. Canda

WACO, Texas -- Chris Salazar sits at one of the tall tables in the pizza place a few blocks from the Baylor campus where he is the general manager, looking forward like so many others in the community to kickoff for the 23rd-ranked Bears after what was definitely not the typical offseason.The new season comes three months after the swift removal of head coach Art Briles following the release of a report alleging that the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against football players.So Baylor will have to move forward without the coach who in eight seasons transformed the Bears from perennial last-place finishers to back-to-back Big 12 Conference champs in 2013 and 2014, and took them to being on the verge of the first College Football Playoff and a possible national title chance just two seasons ago.I think its probably a little bit more measured because of whats happened this offseason, Salazar said at Shortys Pizza Shack, where the Baylor memorabilia on display includes a football signed by Briles. But I think theres a lot of excitement, just because we know we still have a lot of good players returning.Much of the external investigation summarized in the May report focused on allegations surrounding the football team, which has won 50 games the past five seasons. That also led to athletic director Ian McCaw and school President Ken Starr leaving the private Baptist university.We all went through the shock. Everybody was disappointed, said Sammy Citrano, owner of Georges Restaurant, which has a history in Waco spanning more than eight decades and often caters meals for Baylor athletic teams. Now weve had a little time to heal.With acting head coach Jim Grobe and all of the assistants back from Briles staff, the Bears open their season Sept. 2 against Northwestern State in their $266 million, 45,140-seat campus stadium on the banks of the Brazos River. A near-capacity crowd is expected even though the opener under Friday night lights conflicts with Texas high school football games.Once the season starts and that first kickoff happens, everything will start to feel a lot more normal, Salazar said.Its going to be good therapy for everybody in our community, Citrano said. Its football time and these guys are ready to prove to the world were a good school and good team, and good people.This will be the third season for McLane Stadium, the Bears gleaming state-of-the-art home on busy Interstate 35 about halfway between Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, the state capitol and home to Big 12 rival Texas.Ashleigh Richardson is a 2004 Baylor graduate and season-ticket holder who routinely makes the trip with her husband, also an alumnus, from their Louisiana home in the Shreveport-Bossier City area to Waco for football and basketball games. They arent pulling any of their financial support from their alma mater.We bleed green and gold. Were not going to be any less excited than we were last year, or the first year that McLane Stadium was open, because its a family tradition honestly in our house, Richardson said. It was very upsetting when it happened. ... As a fan, and as alumni, all I can do is support the new coach and the kids on the team.Richardson, a Christian, still looks forward to her two young daughters one day attending the school like she did. She said the mistakes of some wont change the foundation of what Baylor is and what it represents as a family of faith.My whole experience there was just wonderful, Richardson said. This has not tainted any of that at all, nor will it taint me wanting to send my girls there.Baylor sold out its season ticket allotment for this season, a record of more than 28,800 with a 98 percent renewal rate by those who had them in 2015. Those renewals were due before the release of the Pepper Hamilton report in May.School officials said about 50 to 75 people called that day wanting to immediately cancel their season tickets, but that only 15 to 20 actually went through with those cancellations after being asked to take a week or so before making a final decision.Jay Netherton, a graduate student at Baylor who also works for First Baptist Church of Waco, said it will be difficult watching television broadcasts of Bears games this season knowing that every announcer every time is going to be rehashing the story over and over, or were going to hear the 2/3 minute bit on everything.Not to mention possible references to the federal siege and 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound outside the city limits in 1993; the 2003 murder of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy by a teammate and the ensuing investigation that uncovered NCAA violations by former coach Dave Bliss; or a biker gang shootout just last year that left nine people dead.Baylor and Waco together will come out of this better, said Larry Holze, a lifelong resident who is the citys director of municipal information. Weve watched and worked together for the good of the community and for the good of Baylor University, and were all confident its going to be good again. Cheap Air Max Shoes Online . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Cheap Air Max Discount . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.cheapairmaxdiscount.com/ . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Discount Air Max Shoes Wholesale . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. 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They will conclude the regular season at home against the San Antonio Stars on Friday.Phoenix (14-17) is fourth in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the third-place Seattle Storm and two games ahead of the Washington Mystics for the WNBAs final playoff spot. The Mercury needs one more win or a Washington loss to secure their place in the postseason.Phoenix has three games remaining in the regular season. The Mercury will play host to Seattle on Thursday before concluding its regular-seaason schedule on the road against San Antonio on Sunday.ddddddddddddThe Mercury swept the season series against Washington this season and would hold the tiebreaker advantage if they finish with identical records.Los Angeles is coming off a 78-60 loss to Seattle. The Sparks elected to rest starters Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Toliver. Candace Parker had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Chelsea Gray added 13 points.Phoenix is coming off an 86-75 victory over the Atlanta Dream. Brittney Griner had 21 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Diana Taurasi added 17 points.Los Angeles and Phoenix split their first two games this season. Parker had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help the Sparks beat the Mercury 77-71 on June 17 in Los Angeles. Taurasi scored 26 points and sank two free throws with eight seconds remaining to help the Mercury edge the Sparks 70-66 on Aug. 28 in Phoenix. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '