Infos & Interessantes » SWITCHEROOBeard left Arkansas-Little Rock

Max Verstappen admits he was a bit shocked after learning of his Red Bull promotion, but isnt feeling the pressure ahead of his Spanish GP debut. Verstappen has swapped places with Daniil Kvyat after the Russian was unceremoniously dropped back to Toro Rosso after his crashes last weekend in Sochi.The 18-year-old spent Thursday at Red Bulls Milton Keynes factory and has a week to prepare for the next race in Barcelona, where he will drive the RB12 for the first time. Kravitz on the Red Bull swap Why have Red Bull swapped Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat now - and what does it tell us? Well, of course I was very happy, he said. A bit shocked as well - I didnt expect it, but yes Im very happy with the opportunity of course.I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull and Dr Helmut Marko and now I just cant wait to jump into the car.I wouldnt say theres more pressure to be honest. Of course Im driving for a top team now, but in the end you always try to do your best which is what I always try to do. For me, I dont feel more pressure. Verstappen will partner Daniel Ricciardo, who he lives in the same building with in Monaco, for the remainder of the 2016 season, and there are theories that Red Bull have dumped Kvyat just to keep the Dutchman away from rivals.The youngster is thought to be tied to Red Bull until the end of 2017 but it is an open secret Mercedes and Ferrari are monitoring his progress closely. Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle felt the timing of the line-up change was a masterstroke from Red Bull after Kvyats error-strewn performance at his home grand prix when he both ended Sebastian Vettels race and hampered his teams. Just four races into the new season, Max Verstappen has swapped places with Daniil Kvyat I think it was the perfect chance for Red Bull to move him out the way, Brundle told Sky Sports News HQ. They want to do something with Verstappen, they have to protect him, keep him in the Red Bull team moving forward.They know Mercedes want him, they know Ferrari will want him and other teams too. Its a bit of a masterstroke from Red Bull actually, as brutal as it looks for Kvyat. We look back at the crash that cost Daniil Kvyat his place in the Red Bull line-up from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards Verstappen, meanwhile, said he never felt the urge to move and was always very happy at Red Bull.He added: To be honest, I was always very happy at Red Bull. I never saw reason to change and of course with this opportunity there is no reason to change so Im happy to be here.Its a great honour and its a top team and thats where every driver wants to drive I think. I cant wait to get started. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade Also See: Button questions Red Bull WATCH: The crash that cost Kvyat F1 Gossip: Verstappen reaction Kravitz on the Red Bull swap Jason Grilli Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Yohander Mendez Rangers Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/3152h-colby-lewis-jersey-rangers.html . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Scott Heineman Jersey . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Shawn Kelley Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Brad Underwood embraces the rich history at Oklahoma State.One of the Big 12s three new mens basketball coaches, Underwood takes over a program built by Henry Iba and Eddie Sutton. Though Oklahoma States previous coach, Travis Ford, was successful by many standards, unhappy fans stopped coming to games, forcing the Cowboys to make a move.Sutton, who still sometimes sits in the front row at home games, led the Cowboys to Final Fours in 1995 and 2004.Thats why I came here, Underwood said. Thats why I wanted to be a part of this.Underwood, Texas Techs Chris Beard and TCUs Jamie Dixon join a conference that is coming off one of its best years, with Oklahoma having reached the Final Four and Kansas, Iowa State and West Virginia spending time in the top 10.Beard steps into a pressure situation, too. Tubby Smith led Tech to the NCAA Tournament last season, then he took the job at Memphis. Beard said he thought Texas Techs run last season was one of the best stories in college basketball.Ive got so much respect for coach Smith and the job that he did here, Beard said. The foundation is solid. Our job is to try to take it to the next level.Dixon, who spent 13 years as head coach at Pittsburgh before heading to TCU, said he likes what TCUs administration has done to put him in position to be competitive.We had a lot of great coaches here over the years that I dont think had the resources put in place that we have now, Dixon said. I think thats exciting for us. Weve got a whole different amount of involvement.AKOLDA MANYANGOklahomas 7-foot center was kicked off the team earlier this month after being accused of aggravated robbery in Minnesota.You hate seeing young men make decisions that dont help them moving forward, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. Were just pulling for AK in that sense. The team is way secondary to that.Manyang was in line to fill some of the minutes vacated by Ryan Spangler, who is on the Oklahoma City Thunders summmer league roster.ddddddddddddJOSH JACKSONKansas next big thing is Josh Jackson. You wont catch him acting like it.The small forward from San Diego was the McDonalds All-American game co-MVP and was part of the FIBA U-17 World Championship team in 2014 and the U19 World Championship team in 2015.Kansas coach Bill Self said Jackson has a good attitude and doesnt seek attention.The feeling that I get from Josh is that he just wants to be a college kid, he said. Of course, hes not going to be a college kid very long. Certainly, he wants us in every way that we possibly can, to protect and shield him from all the talk that could potentially go on. Hes not caught up in it.SWITCHEROOBeard left Arkansas-Little Rock for UNLV, then changed his mind a few weeks later and took the job at Texas Tech. Beard is from Texas, he was an assistant at Tech under Bobby Knight and Pat Knight, and his three daughters were already in Texas.It wasnt an easy decision, Beard said. It was difficult. The timing was terrible. I had a lot of respect for the people at UNLV, and we were 100 percent committed to trying to get the job done there, but sometimes in life, you get a special opportunity.SIX DRAFTEDSix players from the Big 12 were selected in the draft: Oklahomas Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins; Iowa States Georges Niang and Abdel Nader; Baylors Taurean Prince and Kansas Cheick Diallo. Among those not drafted were Kansas Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden and Texas Isaiah Taylor. Ellis has signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks.GIANT KILLERSTwo of the new coaches made splashes with mid-majors before taking their new jobs. Oklahoma States Underwood led Stephen F. Austin to a win over West Virginia in this years NCAA Tournament, while Texas Techs Beard led Arkansas-Little Rock past Purdue.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP ' ' '