ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech moved quickly to land a new athletic director, appointing former Yellow Jackets football player Todd Stansbury on Thursday to take over a program that has struggled to make its mark in the crowded Atlanta market.Stansbury served for the past year as Oregon States athletic director, and he previously ran programs at Central Florida and East Tennessee State.But Georgia Tech is where hes always wanted to be. Some two decades after he left the school where he played linebacker in the early 1980s, graduated with a degree in industrial management and served for seven years as an assistant AD under Homer Rice, Stansbury finally fulfilled that dream.The 55-year-old replaces Mike Bobinski, who was appointed Purdues athletic director last month. Paul Griffin will continue to serve as interim AD until Stansbury arrives in late November or early December, and also will assist with the transition.This is home, said Stansbury, a native of Oakville, Canada. This is where I found who I was.He takes over an athletic program that has faced budget and attendance issues; has a new mens basketball coach, Josh Pastner; and is coming off a dismal 3-9 year in football, though the Yellow Jackets did win their first three games this season heading into Thursday nights contest showdown with No. 5 Clemson.One of Stansburys most pressing concerns will be an increasingly competitive landscape when it comes to athletic facilities. Clemson recently opened a lavish new football training facility, while Georgia is building a state-of-the-art indoor practice structure.They happen to be two of Georgia Techs biggest rivals.Its important that your facilities are in sync with facilities at your competitors, but its also important that youre true to yourself and who you are, Stansbury said. Whats important is understanding who you are, what fits for you and make sure youre providing the best facilities for your coaches and student-athletes to be successful. That doesnt necessarily mean you need a waterfall in your locker room.He said his experience at Oregon State and Central Florida, both overshadowed in their own states by better-funded athletic programs, would help him deal with the challenges of competing with not only other college teams but the abundance of professional sports options in Atlanta.Stansbury said he will also work to enhance the Total Sports Program that Rice developed at Georgia Tech with the goal of ensuring that student-athletes were prepared for life beyond the field or court. The new AD came up with the Everyday Champions initiative in his previous jobs, though he quipped that I have a feeling its going to revert back to the Total Person Program.Stansbury said he will work to set up corporate partnerships that not only bring in much-needed revenue to the athletic program but allow executives to work with student-athletes, teaching them the skills theyll need for the business world and identifying those who might be worthy of bringing on board after they graduate.I think that will work well in Atlanta, just looking at the skyline, Stansbury said. I think there will be partners who are interested in the talent were producing.His ties to Georgia Tech actually go back to when he was 10 years old. On a vacation trip to Florida, Stansburys parents stopped by the school and let their son watch football practice. Even though he was Canadian largely focused on hockey, he knew right away thats what he wanted to do.When reports surfaced that Bobinski was leaving for Purdue, having served less than 3 1/2 years as Georgia Techs athletic director, Stansbury began getting early morning calls on the West Coast.Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson made it clear that Stansbury was the top candidate all along.I believe that this is one of those rare golden moments in life where opportunity meets ambition, Peterson said. We welcome Todd Stansbury home.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.orgDiscount Nike Shox . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Nike Shox Shoes Outlet .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. http://www.cheapnikeshoxoutlet.com/ . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Cheap Nike Shoes China . "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. Nike Shox From China . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. NEW YORK -- Flavia Pennetta arrived back at Arthur Ashe Stadium and had one question: Where is it?She couldnt wait to see the most recent addition to the photos of past champions displayed at the U.S. Open. Its been almost one year since Pennetta affixed her name to that list, yet as she returned to Flushing Meadows on Friday, that moment felt much longer ago than 12 months.The 2015 U.S. Open final was not only when the 33-year-old Italian won her first major title. It was also when she announced to the world that she planned to retire.I had the chance to say to everyone in the perfect moment in the perfect way, Pennetta told The Associated Press before she appeared at the U.S. Open draw ceremony as the reigning womens champion. Of course it was a big moment -- not just for the winning, but for everything.I didnt have any regrets. One year later Im here and really happy with my life now.She had decided a month before the tournament to leave tennis at the end of the season, convinced she couldnt win the years final major and OK with the fact that meant shed finish her career without a Grand Slam title. The grind of the tour was wearing her down, the constant travel around the globe from week to week to week.At too many events, Pennetta was thinking: Why am I here? I dont want to be here.Sometimes I was 100 percent on court, she recalled, and sometimes I was, `OK, I have to play -- I dont want to go. I want to be another place.Where she often wants to be these days is riding the horse she owns. Her father jokes that she seems to spend more time doing that than she did practicing tennis.This summer, where she wanted to be was on a boat cruising between Greek islands. Pennetta hails from Brindisi, in the heel of Italys boot, where seemingly everybody makes the short trip to Greece for vacations. No one could believe that she hadnt been, but there was just never the time over the summer. Until now.Asked what else shes suddenly been able to do in retirement, Pennetta laughed and pointed out the biggest one: We get married.Her wedding to fellow Italian player Fabio Fognini took place in June. Fognini is 29, aand his wife isnt trying to sell him on the merits of retirement.dddddddddddd.I push him to play until 35, 37, Pennetta said, smiling.She hopes that by then hell be playing as a father.At this years U.S. Open, the 38th-ranked Fognini faces No. 106 Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round Tuesday. Pennetta is kept close to tennis by her husbands career, and she follows the fortunes of former Italian Fed Cup teammates Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.Watching matches from the stands can be agonizing. Its so easy to see which shot the player should have hit, how they should react to a missed call.But she also knows well that between the lines, none of that comes easy.From outside, you see everything so clear. When youre on court, of course not, Pennetta said. You would like to help them, but there is no chance. You just have to sit there and say, `OK, come on.It was Vinci, her former junior doubles partner, who Pennetta met for the U.S. Open title in one of the unlikeliest major finals ever. Vinci, then ranked 43rd, had just derailed Serena Williams Grand Slam bid with a shocking upset in the semis.This was the first major final for both Italians, and the 26th-seeded Pennetta was the oldest woman in the Open era to become a first-time Grand Slam champion. Then during the trophy ceremony, she threw in one last twist to a tournament full of stunners. Her on-court interview about the end, Pennetta interjected: I just need to say one thing more.She played four more tournaments to wrap up her final season. Pennetta still enjoys playing for fun but now can go a month without touching a racket.Shes done some commentating work for Italian TV and figures she might help out the countrys tennis federation. But mostly she relishes the freedom to spend time with her husband and with her family back home in Brindisi, to travel around Italy visiting friends.Now I have all this time, so now Im perfect, she said, the smile spreading across her face. Im always where I want to be. ' ' '