On Tuesday, the Big 12 authorized commissioner Bob Bowlsby to start exploring expansion candidates.Bowlsby and Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chairman David Boren said the factors the league would consider would include strength of football program, fan base, media market, reputation and academic standing.Through that prism, heres how potential expansion candidates stack up:NOTE: In each section, teams are listed in order of likeliness of being invited to join the league.The favoritesBYU: With the strongest football program of any available non-Power 5 program, the Cougars have been at the top of the list from the very beginning. Along with Houston, BYU topped an ESPN poll of the leagues football coaches, presumably for that very reason. BYU has defeated Big 12 flagships Texas and Oklahoma in the past seven years, and dating back to 1980, only Nebraska, Florida State, Ohio State, Miami, Florida and the Sooners have won more games than BYU. Through the Mormon Church, the Cougars have a national following, with an average home attendance (58,000) that wouldve ranked fourth in the Big 12 last year. Though the campus is roughly 2,000 miles away from Big 12 member West Virginia, BYU would give the conference a presence in the Mountain Time Zone, creating interesting TV opportunities for the league, while, perhaps, bolstering the Big 12s revenue distribution potential down the line. BYU not playing on Sundays would create issues in Olympic sports scheduling, notably baseball, softball and womens soccer; that obstacle and the schools proximity to the rest of the league is why a football-only option could be on the table for the Cougars. That, however, is not preferable for the Big 12.Cincinnati: For the reason BYUs geographys might work against it, Cincinnatis location is one of the schools biggest assets in Big 12 expansion. Whether the Big 12 chose to expand by two or four, Cincinnati could be logically paired with virtually any expansion candidate. West Virginias leadership has been a proponent of Big 12 expansion, provided that through expansion the Mountaineers wind up with a travel partner, like Cincinnati, that makes sense. School president Santa Ono has been working furiously behind the scenes to get the school into the Big 12, though hell be leaving for the University of British Columbia in August. Cincinnati recently renovated Nippert Stadium, plays in a top-40 TV market and has big businesses, notably Cincinnati-based Kroger and Macys, behind its candidacy.The other hopefulsHouston:?UH is all-in on Big 12 expansion, with both president Renu Khator and athletic director Hunter Yurachek issuing statements Wednesday touting the university. I am thrilled to have this opportunity, Khator said, to showcase the University of Houston. Billionaire and UH regents chairman Tilman Fertitta told ESPN Wednesday that, We feel like we have a lot to offer. The Cougars have enjoyed a football resurgence at an opportune time, with Tom Herman delivering a 13-1 record last year. UH also has a massive enrollment and plays in the fourth-biggest city in the country. UH will be making the case that the SEC has begun to take over the city of Houston, and that only the Cougars can deliver it back to the Big 12.Connecticut: The Huskies are situated among several major markets in the Northeast and could help the Big 12 find footing in the region, the way Rutgers opened up New York City to the Big Ten, which might help in future TV negotiations. The question is whether that, along with UConns solid academics and terrific basketball programs, would outweigh the proximity problem and UConns mediocre football.UCF: Central Florida boasts the largest undergraduate enrollment in the country and operates out of the 19th-largest TV market. Those are both major positives. There ought to be a home for us in the Big 12, UCF president John Hitt said Wednesday. Theres a sense among some that UCF has tremendous upside and would thrive playing in a major conference, especially with so much in-state high school talent and an up-and-coming coach in Scott Frost. On the other hand, UCF has virtually no football tradition, going 0-12 last year. Its also difficult to envision the fans in Norman and Austin getting fired up to go watch the Sooners and Longhorns take on the Knights.Memphis: FedEx has been dangling millions of advertising dollars in front of the Big 12 in exchange for a Memphis invite to the Big 12. On top of that, in a letter to West Virginia president Gordon Gee, Memphis president David Rudd said that the schools partnership with FedEx would uniquely position [Memphis] to request only a portion of new revenue for several years until renegotiation of the conference media [rights] agreement occurs. In other words, Memphis, conceivably, would be willing to accept partial distribution of conference revenue all the way until 2024-25. That would be worth millions to current Big 12 members and should, at the least, command the leagues attention.Colorado State: If the Big 12 focuses west in expansion with BYU, Colorado State would make sense as a second (or fourth) school. CSU claims the Denver market and could re-expand (after Colorados departure in 2011) the Big 12 footprint into Colorado in a way that doesnt create a logistical nightmare. Rams athletic director Joe Parker has close ties to the conference, having worked at Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas, which, as one Big 12 administrator pointed out, is a real advantage for CSU. The Rams are also building a $200 million on-campus stadium that would be ready by the time CSU would join the Big 12.The long shotsTulane: Conference chairman?Boren noted that academic standing would be a component in expansion exploration. That makes Tulane, with its terrific academic profile, a true dark horse. The city of New Orleans could also entice the Big 12 from a market and recruiting point. If the Big 12 expanded by two, Tulane would probably have no chance, but if the league expanded by four, Tulane just might become a factor.Boise State: Boise State has won 10 or more games 13 times since 1999, and the football appeal of the Broncos to the Big 12 fan bases would be stronger than most candidates out there. But would that alone capture the Big 12s attention? Boise doesnt have much else to offer.USF: The Bulls picked an awfully bad time to have an academic fraud scandal. USF was already a long-shot candidate. This latest development could be a dagger to their candidacy.The you-never-knowUCLA: Former UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel caused a stir Wednesday when he said on Sirius XM College Sports that he wouldnt be surprised if the Bruins gave a move to the Big 12 serious thought. Before you ask why UCLA would consider leaving the comforts of the Pac-12 for the Big 12, remember this: Kansas State generated three times more Tier 3 revenue through K-StateHD.TV than UCLA received from the struggling Pac-12 Network. The Pac-12 grant of rights is up before the Big 12s, and as one industry insider put it, if Pac-12 commish Larry Scott can flirt with Texas and Oklahoma, whats stopping Bob Bowlsby from doing the same with the Bruins? Who knows -- UCLA could be tempted to make a brand-defining break from USC in the same vein of Texas A&Ms SEC move away from Texas. Noah Syndergaard Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Amed Rosario Mets Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/carlos-gomez-mets-jersey/ . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Gary Carter Jersey . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Jason Vargas Jersey ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Englands tour of Bangladesh, with its attendant security concerns resulting in the absence of the ODIs sides captain and first-choice opener, is one that requires handling sensitively. In Jos Buttler, who has accepted the captaincy on a locum basis, they seem to have as sensitive and thoughtful a leader as there is among the young group.Buttler has already insisted that, as far as he is concerned, Eoin Morgan remains the captain of the one-day side and will return to the job when England go to India in the New Year. I fully expect its a short-term thing, he reiterated before the teams departure for Dhaka, having been in touch with Morgan over the phone to discuss the challenge ahead. Alastair Cook, the Test captain who will be joining the ODI squad as part of his preparations for the tour, has also texted his encouragement and will be on hand for advice.The next few weeks will ask a lot of Buttler. Some were surprised when he was named Morgans deputy ahead of the 2015 World Cup and he still does not have much in the way of captaincy experience beyond leading England in a T20 against Pakistan in Dubai last November. With his soft-spoken demeanour, he is not what some people expect of a classic on-field general but he is determined to do the job his way.Ill try and be genuine, Ill try and be myself, Im not going to be anyone Im not as a captain, he said. I think I view the game in a very similar way to Eoin Morgan, Ill try and be aggressive. The way we have been playing the last 18 months, Ill ask the guys to play in exactly the same way - obviously conditions will dictate that to an extent as well. Its a young squad but its an experienced squad in terms of cricket and game awareness, and thats something were going to need in Bangladesh.As well as the increased level of security for the players to deal with - for the first few days it will be in your mind - England will face an opponent eager to give them a cricketing headache. Although they lost to Afghanistan this week, Bangladesh have won their last five ODI series at home, stretching back to 2014; the last non-Asian team to come away from the country with a one-day trophy was Australia more than five years ago.Bangladesh have also beaten in England in three of their last four ODIs, which included handing Morgans side their passports during the group stage of the 2015 World Cup. That defeat served as a catalyst for Englands radical limited-overs reinvention and the rematch will provide another opportunity to show how far they have come.It was a really tough day in Adelaide, very disappointing, Buttler said. But we got to rock bottom there and have come back, turned that corner. Its going to be a great tour, theyve been very successful at home in their recent past, so its a great challenge for us as a group to play in thoose conditions.dddddddddddd.Englands arrival is likely to be a major event in Bangladesh, which last hosted a tour by another Full Member in July 2015. Australia pulled out of a planned trip last year on government advice and Englands tour was only confirmed as going ahead last month - with Morgan and Alex Hales opting to make themselves unavailable. Buttler has been to Bangladesh on three previous occasions, most recently for the 2014 World T20, and was confident that it would be a good experience for the players involved.We are aware of that, he said when asked about the significance of Englands visit. Its not massively at the forefront of your mind when you make a decision that is right for you, based on security ... However, we want to broaden our horizons and its fantastic for Bangladesh that we are going to tour. When we get there, cricket will be that universal language and well be welcomed, and it will be fantastic for Bangladesh.Its going to be a good tour. Its nice that the security stuff can take a back seat and we can start talking about cricket. Theyre very passionate fans and it will make for a good atmosphere to play cricket in and well have to play well to win.Talk should quickly turn to cricket, as England play a single warm-up match ahead of the first ODI next Friday. With Hales and Morgan missing out and Joe Root rested, England will field a much-changed batting line-up, likely to include the debutant Ben Duckett and two from Jonny Bairstow, James Vince and Sam Billings. They have played just 26 ODIs between them, although it is a mark of how quickly England have grown since the World Cup that Buttler could refer to Billings, who made his debut in the subsequent series against New Zealand, as someone who has been around for a long time.England were flying out the morning after the Professional Cricketers Association awards dinner - the schedule barely allows room for end-of-season revelry these days - and the inclusion of Duckett, the first man to win both Player and Young Player of the Year, gives Buttler a weapon that none of his predecessors have been able to draw on.Hes obviously had a great year, last night he picked up both PCA awards and rightly so hes being talked about. Hes a fantastic talent, someone Im actually really looking forward to getting to know better and to see in training, because thats really when you start to see how good guys are. Its very exciting, some of the performances hes put in - that double-hundred for the Lions was fantastic, so its a great opportunity for him. He is a very exciting prospect for English cricket which just shows in one-day cricket theres some great depth and great competition. ' ' '