IRVING, Texas -- The Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday that it has authorized commissioner Bob Bowlsby to begin exploring expansion candidates.The Big 12 board of directors met in Irving and deliberated on the merits of expansion, hearing presentations from two paid consultants on the issue.Bowlsby is expected to begin contacting schools to gauge their interest in the Big 12 in the coming days.?Its a forward step, a positive step, said Oklahoma president and board chair David Boren, who has been the most outspoken expansion proponent. Not yet a decision ... but it shows momentum on the board to consider [expansion] as a possibility.Boren said expansion by both two schools and four schools will be on the table.?Bowlsby told ESPN that its conceivable the conference would be ready to vote on specific expansion candidates before the boards regularly scheduled meeting in October.The Big 12 has been a 10-team conference since 2012, after Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri left during the last major wave of realignment and TCU and West Virginia joined.The conference has been batting around the idea of adding more members for more than a year and begins its search with plenty of suitors. The Big 12 has been getting pitches behind the scenes for months from American Athletic Conference schools such as Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Houston and Central Florida. BYU, a football independent, has made it known it wants into a Power 5 conference. Colorado State has also reached out to Big 12 leaders.Weve been contacted by a number of institutions, and I would imagine after this news breaks well be contacted again, Bowlsby said.Big 12 leaders have acknowledged that none of the available schools is a natural fit. None is guaranteed to deliver both highly competitive teams -- especially football teams -- as well as large new markets to increase the value of future media deals.We are looking for members that will grow over time as we grow, Bowlsby said. That bring stability. That have a high top end.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.? Nike Vapormax Plus Norge . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Vapormax Svart Dame Norge . 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.vapormaxnorge.com/vapormax-herre-norge/vapormax-flyknit.html . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Nike Vapormax Dame Norge . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Vapormax Flyknit Dame Norge . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Cappie Pondexter has had to come up with huge scoring games plenty of times in her career, both with Phoenix and New York. With Chicago, though, thats been the case less often because 2015 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne is such a scoring machine.However, since Delle Donne has missed the past two games after a thumb injury suffered in a loss to Washington on Sept. 7, the Sky have needed Pondexter to lead the way offensively. She has done that, as Chicago secured a playoff berth with a 96-86 victory over Connecticut on Sunday in which Pondexter had a season-high 24 points.We knew coming into this season that our versatility and depth would allow us get to where we are right now, Pondexter said. We worked really hard during the [Olympic] break to get better individually, skill-wise and conditioning-wise.Not having Elena is tough, but at the same time, were a strong enough team to adjust to that.Delle Donne is out indefinitely -- the team said she will undergo thumb surgery -- and will miss Tuesdays game between the Sky and the Lynx in Chicago (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET). There are no playoff implications for the 26-5 Lynx, who already have clinched the top overall seed and will advance to the semifinals along with No. 2 seed Los Angeles.But the Sky -- who are 16-15, along with Indiana and Atlanta -- are still trying to secure the No. 4 seed, which would give them a bye for the first round of single-elimination games. Tuesdays game is also another chance for rookie post player Imani Boyette to hone her skills against an elite veteran center: Sylvia Fowles, who played her first seven seasons for Chicago.You get to measure yourself against the best, said Boyette, who is averaging 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in her first season. Playing against those big names, its always fun to see what I need to work on.Just because the Lynx technically have nothing to gain with a victory and nothing to lose with a loss, dont think they will sleepwalk through their final three regular-season games. They hope to finish sharp, and then keep their edge while they wait to see who advances to the semifinals.That said, the Lynx will be smart about getting players rest as needed. Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen was fatigued and battling a lot of physical pain during last postseason. SShe gutted it out through the WNBA Finals, but she wasnt near her best.dddddddddddd Whalen didnt play overseas this past winter as she prepped for a summer that would include a Lynx title defense and the Olympics. Thats paid off.I wanted to be as healthy as possible, feeling good and being able to contribute all year, Whalen said. With the rest that well get, well use that time wisely. Well still be practicing hard and continuing to build off that chemistry weve had all season.On the chemistry front, there is one team, Seattle, that seems to have flourished in that regard, and another, Los Angeles, that is struggling just a bit. Admittedly, the Sparks really arent playing for anything in the last week of the regular season, either, just like the Lynx. Los Angeles has the No. 2 seed wrapped up.But having lost their last three games -- and five of eight since play resumed after the Olympic break -- the Sparks havent looked like the same confident team they previously appeared to be. They are still 24-8, and they have a chance to regain some mojo with their last two regular-season games at home, versus Phoenix on Tuesday and San Antonio on Friday.Seattle, however, has looked better and better since the Olympic break, going 6-2 in that stretch, with losses at Minnesota and Chicago. The Storm are led by the veteran poise of Sue Bird -- whos having an outstanding season -- and young stars Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart.The Storm beat Los Angeles 78-60 on Sunday in Seattle, albeit with MVP candidate Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Toliver resting for Los Angeles. The win put Seattle back in the postseason after missing out the past two years.In the East, Indiana is in the playoffs for a record 12th consecutive season, and Atlanta returns after missing last year. New York, which is also battling injuries, has secured the third seed and hopes to get healthy for the postseason.The one unclaimed playoff spot will go to Phoenix or Washington, with the Mercury in the drivers seat at 14-17 to the Mystics 12-19.One team will advance to the postseason, while the other will join San Antonio, Dallas and Connecticut in the draft lottery. ' ' '