LATROBE, Pa. -- A farewell to the King turned somber when Jack Nicklaus, his voice cracking as a large tear formed in his left eye, urged the elite and the everyman to remember how Arnold Palmer touched their lives and please dont forget why.I hurt like you hurt, Nicklaus said. You dont lose a friend of 60 years and dont feel an enormous loss.The service Tuesday at Saint Vincent College in Palmers hometown was filled with just as much laughter and warmth from stories of the most significant figure in modern golf. Nearly 1,000 golf dignitaries from around the world, referred to by former LPGA Commissioner Charlie Mechem as the elite battalion of Arnies Army, crammed into the basilica.Some 4,000 others headed to remote sites across the college to watch. Long lines of traffic formed two hours before the service began.Palmer died Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh at age 87 as he was preparing for heart surgery. His family had a private funeral Thursday and asked that a public service be held after the Ryder Cup so no one would be left out.We were looking down at the air strip and the fog just suddenly lifted, Ernie Els said after landing in one of several private jets that descended on Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe. This is a beautiful day. Weve all met different people in life. He was a man who didnt change. It didnt matter if you cut the grass or you were a president. He was the same with everybody. He was just ... he was the man.Palmer won 62 times on the PGA Tour, including seven major championships. He inspired the modern version of the Grand Slam by going over to the British Open and making it important in the eyes of Americans again. He was a captain twice in the Ryder Cup, and the gold trophy the Americans won Sunday at Hazeltine sat on a table for guests to see as they took their seats.But this service was more about the lives Palmer touched than the tournaments he won.In the large portrait at the front of the stage, Palmer wasnt holding a golf club or a trophy. It was just the King and that insouciant grin that made everyone feel like they were friends, even if they had never met.Have there been better golfers? Perhaps, but not many. Has anyone done more for the game? No one has come even close, former R&A chief Peter Dawson said. Is there a finer human being? I havent met one yet.Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and a few other members of the U.S. team were there. So was the generation before them, Tom Watson and Curtis Strange, Lee Trevino and Mark OMeara. Dozens of others were there, along with the heads of every major golf organization. All of them alternately smiled and wiped away the occasional tear.PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said he had known Palmer since 1957 -- Finchem was 10 that year -- because when you saw him play, it was the same thing as meeting him. He said Palmer brought so many people to golf because of his attacking style, his television appeal and how he carried himself.He had this other thing, Finchem said. It was the incredible ability to make you feel good -- not just about him, but about yourself. I was amazed by how people reacted to him. He took energy from that and turned right around and gave it back.Mechem, the former LPGA commissioner who became one of Palmers closest advisers, set the tone for the service by asking the crowd to remember the image of Palmer walking up the 18th fairway, hitching up his pants and giving a thumbs-up. Still, a touch of sadness was inevitable.Theres an old saying that there are no irreplaceable people, Mechem said, his voice cracking toward the end of the ceremony. Whoever made that line didnt know Arnold Palmer. There will never be another.Among the more poignant tributes was Palmers grandson, Sam Saunders, who plays on the PGA Tour.There wasnt a big difference between the man you saw on TV and the man we knew at home, Saunders said.Saunders grew up calling him Dumpy because thats what his older sister said when trying to call him Grumpy. The name stuck. Thats how Saunders had Palmer listed in his phone, and he used that number more times than he could remember.The last call was a week ago Sunday at 4:10 p.m., shortly before Palmer died.He answered on the first ring. He was in the hospital preparing for surgery the next morning, Saunders said. He told me to take care of my babies, my entire family. I intend to do that and make him proud. I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me back. That was the last thing we said to each other, and I will cherish that the rest of my life. And Ill take the best piece of advice he gave me, to talk less and listen more.Palmers co-pilot, Pete Luster, flew Palmers plane over Saint Vincent College for nearly an hour before the service. The crowd gathered outside the basilica when it was over to watch Luster fly overhead and tip the wing.He made one more pass in the plane -- tail number N1AP -- and then soared upward until it disappeared behind a large, white cloud.Higher. Faster. Thats how Palmer used to fly, thats how he used to play. Thats how he lived.He was the king of our sport, Nicklaus said. And he always will be. Cheap Ravens Jerseys . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Wholesale Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . 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Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy was part of South Floridas pitch to the Big 12, and former major league first baseman Tino Martinez also went to bat for the Bulls.The Big 12 concluded a week of meetings Friday in North Texas with the 11 schools vying to join the conference. USF, Cincinnati and Rice made the final presentations, according to three people with knowledge of the meetings who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was keeping its meetings confidential.According to a person familiar with USFs pitch, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik was part of the five-person team, led by university president Judy Genshaft, the school sent to Texas.USFs presentation included a video with Dungy, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts coach, and Martinez, a Tampa native, endorsing the Bulls, the person said.I think the Big 12 would be surprised to know how many people in the Tampa area are really behind the USF Bulls, Dungy said, according to an excerpt provided to the AP.dddddddddddd There are so many sports fans here that just love the university and love to see college athletics.Dungys son, Eric, played football for USF in 2014.USF is definitely ready, said Martinez, who played 16 seasons in the majors with Seattle, the New York Yankees, St. Louis and Tampa Bay.USF plays its home games in Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers and the site of this seasons College Football Playoff championship game.The Big 12 is also considering Air Force, BYU, Central Florida, Colorado State, Connecticut, Houston, SMU and Tulane. The conference has not committed to expansion, but commissioner Bob Bowlsby has said it is exploring the possibility of adding two or four new members to the 10-team league.There has been no timetable set for the Big 12 to make a decision, but the conferences university presidents are scheduled for a regular meeting Oct. 19. ' ' '