gislative leaders and a citizen group filed lawsuits to defend it

(STATS) -- North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central have shared the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in each of the past two seasons. On Saturday, one of them will be the outright champion.The ninth-ranked Aggies make the short 55-mile trip from Greensboro to take on the No. 24 Eagles in Durham in a winner-take-all season finale with a trip to the Celebration Bowl on the line.North Carolina A&T (9-1) has won all seven of its conference games following its only loss, 58-21 at FBS member Tulsa on Sept. 17. North Carolina Central (8-2) is also unbeaten in seven MEAC contests and has won eight in a row overall, leading to the program entering the STATS FCS Top 25 for the first time Monday.That means there can be only one MEAC champion after the Aggies and Eagles were part of a five-way tie in 2014 before both shared the title with Bethune-Cookman last season. North Carolina A&T won the tiebreaker in 2015 and went on to beat Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State 41-34 in the inaugural Celebration Bowl.The Eagles have won the past two meetings in this series -- both in the season finale -- to earn a share of the MEAC title.Its going to be a big one, said North Carolina A&Ts Rod Broadway, a finalist for the STATS Eddie Robinson Award as FCS Coach of the Year. Were going up against a 7-0 team and theyre our biggest rival. We have to be better prepared to play well.The Eagles have managed to beat the Aggies twice in a row despite Tarik Cohen combining for 315 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cohen, a finalist for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award as Offensive Player of the Year, is second in the FCS with 1,436 yards and 17 TDs on the ground.The senior recorded his fourth 200-yard game of the season last Saturday, rushing 13 times for 221 yards -- an average of 17 per carry -- and two scores in North Carolina A&Ts 45-14 win at Delaware State.North Carolina Central does most of its damage through the air. The Eagles lead the MEAC with 225 passing yards per game behind redshirt senior Malcolm Bell, who tops the league with 2,007 yards and 15 passing TDs and is tied for second with seven rushing scores.North Carolina A&T also has a star quarterback in redshirt sophomore Lamar Raynard, who ranks first in the MEAC in completion percentage (64.6) and pass efficiency (140.8 rating) and second behind Bell in passing TDs (14).Both squads have solid receiving corps. The Aggies are led by senior Denzel Keyes and freshman Elijah Bell, who have combined for 15 TD catches, while senior LaVontis Smith and sophomore Jalen Wilkes have five each for the Eagles.I think everybodys getting what they always wanted, theyre gonna get an outright champion this year, said North Carolina Central coach and Eddie Robinson Award finalist Jerry Mack. Everythings on the table and we want to be greedy this year. We want to have a chance to take an outright championship and go to a bowl game, so its right there before us.Joe Rudi Athletics Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. J. B. Wendelken Jersey . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/305m-mike-andrews-jersey-athletics.html .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. Gene Tenace Athletics Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Joe Dimaggio Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford.RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina lawmakers took steps Thursday to set aside a half-million dollars for the legal defense of a law limiting protections for LGBT people as a judge sought to streamline a cluster of lawsuits it has inspired.Republican lawmakers were mapping out the end of the session, including possible changes to the law known as House Bill 2, which has attracted high-profile critics including the NBA. The session could end this weekend.But there was no appetite to change the provision requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate in schools, universities and many other public buildings. The law also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide anti-discrimination protections.Pressure to change the law has come from several quarters including NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said earlier this month that there needed to be progress on changing the law this summer to ensure the league keeps its 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.The league issued a joint statement late Thursday with the Charlotte Hornets saying they were doubtful that proposed changes would go far enough.We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature, the statement said.Legislative leaders were weighing possible adjustments, while trying to determine whether theres enough support to get the legislation to Gov. Pat McCrorys desk. McCrory has urged lawmakers to repeal a provision preventing workers from using state law to sue over workplace discrimination.The governor has been public in what he has asked us to look at, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said Thursday. We are reviewing those matters and its just still in discussion.Moore confirmed other changes are being considered but he declined to elaborate.The Senate also approved a plan to give McCrorys office $500,000 to defend the law in court, by transferring money from a disaster relief fund. The measure still must pass the House.Entertainers including Bruce Springsteen canceled concerts to protest the law, while scores of business leaders signed a letter seeking its repeal. Rallies to support the law, meanwhile, drew thoussands of conservatives to Raleigh.ddddddddddddOther legislators have said possible changes include increasing criminal penalties for people who commit sexual assaults in bathrooms and locker rooms. There also could be dispensations for transgender people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery but were born in the few states where the sex on a birth certificate cant be changed.Gay rights advocates held a news conference to say nothing short of the laws repeal would suffice.There is only one fix for H.B. 2, and its full and total repeal, said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. If they choose not to and Gov. McCrory and his political cronies run out the clock on this short session, they wont be able to outrun the voters of this state in November.McCrory discussed the law privately with Democratic legislators at the Executive Mansion.Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, described the discussion as candid. But he said Democrats remained concerned that proposed changes dont fix fundamental problems with the law.A spokesman for McCrorys re-election campaign, Ricky Diaz, later said in an email: Any Democrat standing with the Human Rights Campaign and other out-of-state liberal interest groups by refusing any compromise is attempting to drive the NBA All-Star Game from North Carolina.Transgender residents and the U.S. Department of Justice have challenged the law in court, while McCrory, legislative leaders and a citizen group filed lawsuits to defend it. Legislative leaders will have their own legal expenses after filing a lawsuit separate from the governors.Federal Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, who was overseeing lawsuits by the legislative leaders and citizens group, on Wednesday ordered that they be sent to another federal court hearing separate challenges to the law. Her move increased the likelihood that at least four of the five cases will end up before one judge. It also denied efforts to consolidate the two cases with the lawsuit filed by McCrory before a different judge.The risk of inconsistent adjudication is high and the relative expense of multiple proceedings, as compared to a single proceeding, is plain, Flanagan wrote. ' ' '