GRAPEVINE, Texas -- After three months of exploring the option, the Big 12 voted Monday to remain at 10 members and not expand.According to Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the vote was unanimous among the leagues presidents and chancellors, and no individual expansion schools were discussed or voted on during the meeting.Bowlsby added that Big 12 expansion would no longer be an active agenda item.I made one recommendation: that we should bring this process to closure -- that we shouldnt kick the can down the road, said Bowlsby, who added that the 90-minute presentation he gave to the presidents on the expansion candidates Monday morning was the only time they were referenced specifically.On July 20, the league announced that it would begin to explore expansion and that it had authorized Bowlsby to negotiate with interested schools. The pro-rata clauses in the existing agreements with Fox and ESPN pushed the Big 12 to consider expansion, since those clauses stipulated that the networks would have to pay the conference up to $25 million annually for each new member.Big 12 leaders held video interviews with almost 20 candidates, then interviewed officials from Air Force, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado State, UConn, Houston, Rice, South Florida, SMU and Tulane in person in Dallas in September.After Mondays decision, Bowlsby called the leaders of each candidate to deliver the news personally.The decision really didnt have very much to do with the individual elements of those institutions, Bowlsby said. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, obviously, as all of our members do. But this was really about defense of our model.Even though the process didnt lead to action, Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chair David Boren defended the leagues investment in considering expansion, which including the hiring of consultants Navigate and BHV, both of which flew to Dallas to speak to the presidents again Monday.Was all this gathering of information a waste of time? Boren said. Gathering information is never a waste of time.Last summer, Boren propelled potential expansion into a possibility when he claimed the Big 12 was psychologically disadvantaged as the smallest Power Five conference, and the only one without a football championship game or conference network.In June, the league unanimously voted to implement a championship game in 2017. But since the title game couldnt deliver a network to the conference, Boren said expansion began to lose steam leading up to Monday.The marketplace made that decision for us, Boren said. I hoped we could find a way when we thought we could build a conference network. We needed additional material, additional schools to have additional material for the network. To do that, then, I think would have made sense.The situation now is very, very different. We dont feel a sense of urgency to expand just for expansions sake. It has to be tied to the circumstances at the time.With the expansion debate over, Bowlsby said the league could make a decision as soon as this week on whether it will form divisions to decide which teams will play in the championship game. Bowlsby added that a championship site could be determined by November: Arlington, Texas; Kansas City; and San Antonio are the sites the league is considering.Boren acknowledged that the league wont extend its TV/media rights deal, which runs through 2024-25, until the deal is closer to expiring. The deal helped stabilize the conference in 2012 after Texas A&M left for the SEC.Boren, however, added that the Big 12 schools, including Oklahoma and Texas, still remain committed to the league long term.There is not a single school in this conference looking to go elsewhere, he said. We are committed to each other. We are committed to this conference. We are committing to making the Big 12 conference as strong as possible.No ones looking to walk away.Oakland Athletics Pro Shop . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Joe Dimaggio Athletics Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Denny Mclain Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Billy Martin Athletics Jersey .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have a bright spot in the franchises darkest season.Coach Gus Bradleys defense ranks fourth in the NFL in yards allowed and has been at its best the last five weeks. The unit has surrendered 258 yards a game over the last five weeks and given the Jaguars (2-10) a chance to win each time out.Were becoming the defense that were supposed to be, defensive tackle Malik Jackson said Wednesday.It clearly hasnt been enough since Jacksonville has lost seven in a row heading into Sundays game against Minnesota (6-6), which has dropped six of seven . But its surely something for owner Shad Khan and general manager Dave Caldwell to consider when they start making moves at the end of the season.It wouldnt be surprising to see first-year defensive coordinator Todd Wash stick around and get a chance to take his 4-3 scheme to the next level, especially with so much young talent on that side of the ball.Rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Telvin Smith and defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Dante Fowler Jr. are cornerstones. Jackson, veteran safety Tashaun Gipson, cornerback Aaron Colvin and rookie linebacker Myles Jack provide more building blocks for a defense that was among the worst in the league in 2015.The Jaguars committed nearly $130 million in free agency to sign Jackson and Gipson, and then got better-than-expected contributions from Ramsey, fellow rookie Ngakoue and third-year pro Smith.Combining seven newcomers with a handful of returners took time to jell. But the results have shown in recent weeks.You never know how fast its going to happen, Bradley said. I think guys really understand their roles and theyre playing fast because of it. Its impressive what those guys have done in how they have come together.The Jaguars enjoyed their best defensive effort in Bradleys four seasons last week against Denver. They held the Broncos to 206 yards and 1-for-13 on third down. Denver still won, though, because it forced Jacksonville into three turnovers that led to 10 points.When you know you have arrived is when a defense starts dicctating the outcome of the game, Bradley said.dddddddddddd You saw Denver get a Pick-6, another interception and you feel like their defense really dictated the outcome of that game. Thats the mark of a really good defense. Really good defense. Right now were not there yet. Were not dictating the outcome of it, but not to be confused with a talented defense that really has the arrow up.Youre really excited about this group of guys. Really excited.The one thing the Jaguars need to do better defensively is create turnovers. They have an NFL-low seven takeaways and have gone eight games with an interception.In every other category, were killing it, Jackson said. But weve just got to do more.The defense has had plenty of chances to do more, including dropping interceptions against Kansas City and Denver. The unit also got robbed of a turnover against Buffalo, when officials inadvertently whistled a play dead as running back LeSean McCoy was getting the ball stripped out of his grasp.The balls just not bouncing our way right way, safety Johnathan Cyprien said. Were causing a fumble, but the referee blow the whistle and its dead. Or maybe we drop an interception. Its just problems, weird things happening. Its plays we can do in our sleep, but it just so happens that were not capitalizing. Weve got to continue to fight through it.Regardless, theres much more good going on than bad on defense -- a significant change from recent years and something to build on moving forward.Obviously, this season didnt work out the way we wanted, veteran linebacker Paul Posluszny said. But we still have four games to kind of make our mark. It took a little time for everyone to catch on, but were starting to go now.Imagine when all these guys are second-, third- and fourth-year players. If these guys can be together for several years, they have a chance to be an awesome, awesome defense.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '