that is holding us back from moving forward

WASHINGTON -- Stanley Cup-winning Matt Murray insists hes OK after taking an accidental hit to the head from Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin in a 7-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.Murray left the game late in the first period when Malkin went to shove Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner and hit Murray, whose mask came off. Murray went down to the ice in pain, talked to an athletic trainer and skated off.Murray did not return but said he went through the NHLs concussion protocol and was medically cleared.Im fine, Murray said. I had to go through the protocol, which I think is a little bit unnecessary. I think I was fine. They took me off for the hit that knocked my helmet off. After that, it was just coachs decision to keep me out.Marc-Andre Fleury came in cold to replace Murray with 23.7 seconds left in the first, and allowed a goal to T.J. Oshie with 7.9 second remaining as Pittsburgh fell behind 3-0. With Murray watching from the bench wearing a baseball cap, Fleury allowed five goals on 25 shots.Coach Mike Sullivan said of his decision not to send Murray back out there: I thought it made sense for a lot of reasons.Murray, who missed the start of the playoffs because of a concussion and the start of this regular season with a broken hand from the World Cup of Hockey, entered the game 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average and .961 save percentage.Vapormax Flyknit Dámské . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Nike Vapormax Panske . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. http://www.vapormaxlevne.cz/vapormax-plus-boty/vapormax-plus-damske-sleva.html . LOUIS -- St. Vapormax Plus Pánská .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Nike Vapormax Levne . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night.STORRS, Conn. -- American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco noted the difference on Tuesday.His conference, which a day before had been facing the potential loss of two or even four of its highest-profile programs to the Big 12, finds itself in a stronger position after the Power Five league decided not to add anyone, he said.The silver lining in this, and it wasnt always great over the last six months ... is that we got a lot of attention, Aresco told The Associated Press. The brand has never been better known.Of the 11 schools interviewed as candidates by the Big 12, seven of them: UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, South Florida, SMU, and Tulane are members of the AAC. Three other league schools, Temple, Memphis and East Carolina, were dropped as candidates earlier in the process.Aresco said that kind of exposure helps him make the argument that his league plays at a Power Five level and should eventually be considered part of a Power Six.I think we can build on that and build on our `Power Six narrative, he said. Now, we can resume, reinforce and refocus. I think if the perception is there that we are on that level, we have a chance.Aresco said part of that will be approaching ESPN soon about the possibility of re-opening the Americans TV contract. The league is in the midst of a six-year, $126 million deal with ESPN that expires in 2020.The Big 12, by comparison, has a 13-year, $2.6 billion television contract it signed in 2012.Aresco said he hopes ESPN will be willing to talk about a new deal before the AAC contract hits the open market in 2019.We need a contract that is closer to what the P-55 has than what we have now, he said.ddddddddddddIn the meantime, schools such as UConn, which wont see the hoped-for financial windfall from joining an actual Power Five conference, said they will have to do a better job raising money at the institutional level.UConn athletic director David Benedict said Tuesday that means better ticket sales, fundraising, local media contracts and sponsorship deals.The nice thing about today is that were in control of our own destiny, he said. We dont have anything that is holding us back from moving forward, because were not waiting for someone that we dont have any control over to make a decision that really is going to have an impact on our future.He didnt comment on whether the Huskies are interested in considering other conference options, such as rejoining the Big East for basketball, but said the school is committed to making the American the best conference it can be.Cincinnati football coach Tommy Tuberville, meanwhile, said he still believes his school will get another shot at the Power Five over the next five or six years.This is not the end of the line, he said. Theres going to be huge turnover, theres going to be a realignment, theres going to be things happen.But Aresco said that while he doesnt have a crystal ball, he believes there will be substantial period of quiet before there is any more talk of conference realignment, and for the American, thats a good thing.That will give us a chance to continue building the brand, he said. ' ' '