h-powered offense, exciting quarterback in Greg Ward Jr. and the pre-eminent up-and-coming coach in the game in Herman d

DAVIE, Fla. -- New dad Ryan Tannehill is ready to take charge and scold when necessary, even in public, because he knows whatever happens reflects on him.As a quarterback, that is.Tannehills 2-week-old son might not need reprimanding yet, but the perennially problematic Miami Dolphins offense does. And at the urging of new coach Adam Gase, Tannehill said hes assuming more of a leadership role.Adam has completely enabled me, Tannehill said. I think I have the credibility now to pretty much demand excellence out of these guys. Thats what Im trying to do.Tannehill made his comments following Tuesdays practice, when the offense tried to redeem itself for a woeful performance in a scrimmage three days earlier. Gase said his quarterback did a good job of reorienting teammates in a positive direction.He came out with a purpose, and was very aggressive as far as chirping a little bit out there, Gase said. I saw some growth there as far as his personality coming out and taking control of the offense.Tannehills not a holler guy by nature, and in the past critics found the easygoing Texan too passive when the Dolphins sputtered, which was often.But with four NFL seasons and 64 starts on his resume, Tannehill acknowledged its time for him to become more assertive.Its part of my role to push the guys around me to be the best they can be, he said. I think thats part of being a leader.Gase has done some nudging. The first-time head coach won praise for his work as an assistant with Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler and Tim Tebow, and was hired because the Dolphins believe hell make Tannehill better.Gase is giving Tannehill more responsibility than hes had in the past, including flexibility with audibles at the line. The coaching staff raves about the way Tannehill has absorbed the new playbook.Weve been unbelievably impressed how much hes picked up, offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said. It would have drowned an average man.Tannehill and company flunked their first big test, however. In a scrimmage Saturday, the offense managed one first down in eight series and didnt cross midfield.It was a collective failure, and Tannehill let his teammates hear about it.Im not going to get into what I said, but everyone already knew that it wasnt acceptable, he said. We didnt play well anywhere on the offensive side of the ball from top to bottom.Perhaps the return of receiver DeVante Parker will help. The 2015 first-round pick was back at practice Tuesday after being sidelined by a right hamstring injury, rejoining receivers Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills on the first unit.In the huddle I said, `Man, its nice to have you back, Tannehill said. Hes a good player. He stretches the field for us. You put him on one side, Kenny on the other side, and Jarvis in the middle, and we have three really dynamic playmakers.There are numerous question marks, however, with inexperienced Jay Ajayi the first-team running back, and with top draft pick Laremy Tunsil relegated to the second team at guard even though the starting offensive line has looked only so-so.Perhaps by the time Tannehills son Steel attends his first practice -- Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, Dad said -- some issues will be resolved. The next test will be the opening exhibition game Friday at the New York Giants, with the starters seeing limited action.Im looking forward to taking advantage of every rep we get, Tannehill said, and really just playing fast.If the Dolphins dont, theyll hear about it from their quarterback.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. 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Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Vikings Jerseys For Sale Cheap .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Not six years ago, the Big 12 completely dominated the Houston television market, the second-largest within the conference footprint and 10th-biggest in the country.In fact, in 2010, according to ratings that Nielsen provided to ESPN.com, Big 12 teams played in nine of the top 10-rated regular-season games in the Houston market.But in the wake of two devastating rounds of conference realignment to the Big 12, the conferences stranglehold on one of its most vital markets has been lost. And in swiping away Texas A&M, the SEC has since staged its own H-Town takeover.The SEC right now owns the city of Houston from a TV ratings standpoint, said University of Houston board chair Tilman Fertitta. Those eyeballs in Houston are extremely important to the Big 12.As it seeks an invitation to join the Big 12 in the event the league expands at some point this year, Fertitta and UH officials have been making a twofold pitch to Big 12 leaders.One, that the Big 12 has lost the Houston market to the SEC.And two, that UH can help bring it back.The Big 12 needs to own Houston, Fertitta said. Not the SEC.Back in 2010, there was no doubt which conference owned Houston.According to Nielsen, seven in-conference Big 12 matchups were among the 10 most-watched games in the Houston market that year. In fact, the only non-Big 12-related game that cracked the top 10 in Houston was the Iron Bowl, in which eventual Heisman winner Cam Newton led undefeated Auburn to a furious come-from-behind victory at Alabama. That game came in ninth in Houston, just behind Nebraska-Texas A&M and just ahead of the Big 12 championship, which pitted the Huskers against Oklahoma in their final meeting as conference rivals.But last season, it was the SEC that owned Houston.The Big 12 had only two regular-season games finish in the top 10 in the market: the Red River Showdown and Baylor-TCU, which was played in a monsoon on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving.The SEC, meanwhile, netted six of the top 10 games in Houston, including each of the top three, only one of which included Texas A&M (vs. Alabama). Alabama-Florida placed second and Alabama-LSU was third; even Alabama-Tennessee outperformed the rest of the Big 12s slate.The SEC clearly has made tremendous inroads into the Houston market, said an industry source who has worked in TV programming.Another industry insider who too has worked in college sports programming pointed to Texas struggles since the turn of the decade as a possible factor for the Big 12s decline in Houston. After all, in 2010, half of the Longhorns games ranked in the top 10 in Houston, including tilts against Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska, which were also the top four-rated games in Houston for the year.Whats unknown is how the University of Texas not having the success it once had has impacted the ratings in that market, the insider said. If they had been achieving at a high level, maybe things are a bit different.Still, theres no debating that the SEC has made significant headway intto Houston.ddddddddddddThe question is, can UH do anything to reverse it?Its a close call how much a fifth Texas institution or local Texas institution helps in that market, another insider said. The Big 12 already has a significant presence in the state of Texas, with a strong alumni base represented in the Houston market.I dont know if [UH] would create a market spike. But with the SEC ratings having increased, you could make the argument that having another member that is based there could be helpful.During a breakout campaign in Tom Hermans first season, the Cougars registered well in their home market. On the way to going 13-1, UH alone produced as many top 10 games in Houston as the entire Big 12, according to Nielsen figures the university has submitted to the Big 12.The American Athletic Conference championship featuring UH and Temple on ABC ranked fifth in the Houston market for the year, sandwiched between the Red River Showdown and the Iron Bowl. UH-Navy, also an ABC game, placed ninth.Besides that, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, in which the Cougars rolled past Florida State by two touchdowns, proved to be the highest rated non-playoff New Years Six Bowl in the Houston market.Weve proven over the course of this past year that we can bring the [Houston] college football market, said UH athletic director Hunter Yurachek. I think we bring great value.UH may have resonated in Houston last year. But the Big 12 will be weighing whether the Cougars can significantly and consistently bolster the Big 12s presence in the Houston market long term.One of the insiders who spoke with ESPN said he believes that boost will hinge on how consistently the Cougars can produce on the field.In 2010, when it went 5-7, UH barely registered in its own market, even though the Cougars went to the Conference USA championship game under Kevin Sumlin in the season before and in the season after.Only with a high-powered offense, exciting quarterback in Greg Ward Jr. and the pre-eminent up-and-coming coach in the game in Herman did the Cougars penetrate the Houston market.Itll have a lot to do with the success of the University of Houston, the insider said. If you have teams playing at a high level and playing for championships, then it could absolutely help.The other industry source, however, was far more dubious that the Big 12 can do anything at this point to repel the SECs penetration into Houston -- including adding UH.Is Houston going to really bring that market back to the Big 12? the source said. I dont think so. They just dont move the needle. That is an SEC town now, and thats probably not changing.But Fertitta sees a different outcome with UH in the Big 12.A&M has a huge alumni presence here, and of course so does Texas, he said. But this is Houston. And people who live in Houston, regardless of where they went to school, are going to be interested in Houston. ' ' '