sign a player who has received a qualifying off

WACO, Texas -- That countdown clock to the season opener in Baylors weight room seemed to ticking so slow this summer amid the bad headlines that kept hitting the program after a report that cost coach Art Briles his job.Id be lying if I said it wasnt difficult, receiver Lynx Hawthorne said.This is finally the week the 23rd-ranked Bears have waited for, the chance to get back on the field. They open their third season in McLane Stadium on Friday night against FCS team Northwestern State.Just proving to ourselves that were not dead. Were still alive and were still willing to fight, linebacker Taylor Young said. None of our goals have changed from the previous years. First weve got to win the state, then weve got to win the conference championship. Our overall goal is the national championship, and that has never changed even with the things that have happened.Briles in eight seasons transformed the Bears from perennial losers into a team that won 50 games the past five years, good enough for two Big 12 titles. But he was gone after the May 26 report from an external investigation into allegations the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against football players. The schools president and athletic director also left their posts.While Briles is gone, his entire coaching staff remained intact with Jim Grobe, the acting head coach who was in semi-retirement before coming to Baylor days after that report. The 64-year-old Grobe coached his last game at Wake Forest in 2013.The opener also marks the return of Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, who was the top-rated FBS passer last year when he suffered a season-ending neck injury running the ball in the seventh game.Its all excitement, guess its kind of giddy, Russell said. Counting every blessing I have.Russell, a senior, said he is 100 percent ready, and he will certainly need to stay healthy for the Bears since there is no proven backup quarterback after Jarrett Stidham left Baylor. The second-teamer is true freshman Zach Smith.Some other things to know about the opener at Baylors riverfront campus stadium, where Northwestern State lost 70-6 two years ago:SUSPENDED BEARSSophomore receiver Ishmael Zamora is suspended for Baylors first three games after a video surfaced showing him beating his dog with a belt this summer. The suspension wasnt announced until this week, after the Bears had released their initial depth chart that showed Zamora as a starter. Junior safety Chance Waz, a returning starter, wasnt on the two-deep chart. Grobe said Waz is out of the first two games because of some discipline issues with the university.RECORD RUNShock Linwood, coming off consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, is only 204 yards shy of breaking Baylors career rushing record of 3,665 yards that has been held by Walter Abercrombie for 35 years. Linwood will be running behind an offensive line with four new starters, though center Kyle Fuller joins Linwood as the most experienced starters on the team with 26.THE GRADUATEFor the second season in a row, Northwestern State will have a graduate transfer starting at quarterback. Brooks Haack started eight games last season for Louisiana-Lafayette. Last season, the Demons four-quarterback battle didnt get decided until midseason when graduate transfer Stephen Rivers (Vanderbilt, LSU) took over for the rest of the season.NEED A NICKELBaylor junior nickel back Travon Blanchard, one of the defenses most experienced players, will miss the opener after surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his knee. Blanchard has played 26 games for the Bears, and started 13 of them in the hybrid linebacker-safety position. He could be back for the second game.PURPLE POWERNorthwestern State has only one win against a current Big 12 team. The Demons in 2001 won 27-24 in overtime at TCU, then in Conference USA, in what was Gary Pattersons first home game as the Horned Frogs head coach.---Online: AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Vapormax Herre Danmark . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Vapormax Herre Tilbud . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. http://www.vapormaxdanmark.com/vapormax-dame-sko-danmark.html . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Vapormax Danmark Online . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Nike Vapormax Tilbud Danmark . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson?accepted the Philadelphia Phillies $17.2 million qualifying offer on Monday.Hellickson was one of 10 players to receive qualifying offers from their teams. Monday was the deadline for players to either accept or reject the offers.New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker was the only other player to accept the qualifying offer.Eight other free agents did not accept the offers from their former teams by Mondays 5 p.m. ET deadline: outfielders Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), Yoenis Cespedes (Mets), Ian Desmond (Rangers), Dexter Fowler (Chicago Cubs) and Mark Trumbo (Orioles), designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays); closer Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers); and third baseman Justin Turner (Dodgers).Hellickson said at the end of this season that, although he had hoped to sign a multiyear contract this offseason, hed love to be back next year with the Phillies.Its not the stability I wanted, but its a lot of money for one year, Hellickson told The News Journal in a telephone interview. I believe in myself to go out there and have another good year, even a better year and put myself in position to get the stability in the next offseason.He told the newspaper that he received interest from several teams, but those clubs were reluctant to part with a first-round draft pick to sign him. Aside from teams picking in the first 10 slots of the draft, teams forfeit a first-round pick if they sign a player who has received a qualifying offer.dddddddddddd Teams in the top 10 forfeit their second-highest pick.Hellickson said he considered rejecting the qualifying offer, but changed his mind because of the draft pick restrictions associated with signing him.Ive been playing six years to get to this point and its just unfortunate that free agents like myself have this first-round pick attached to us, Hellickson told The News Journal. It sucks.The guys that are free agents this year, its tough for me to not laugh at people who say this is a weak free-agent market, he continued. Its tough with the uncertainty of the market right now to turn down that much money for one year, especially for a team I enjoyed playing for and a city I love playing for.Hellickson, 29, was 12-10 with a 3.71 ERA last season. He tied career highs with 32 starts and 189 innings pitched and struck out a career-best 154 batters, while walking just 45.His 12 victories were the most by a Phillies pitcher last season.The Phillies acquired Hellickson in a 2015 trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '