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LAS VEGAS -- O.J. Simpson will return next week to the Las Vegas courthouse where he was convicted of leading an armed sports memorabilia heist to ask a judge for a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer botched his case. Simpson will take the witness stand to testify that the Florida lawyer who collected nearly $700,000 is to blame for his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in 2008 and his failed appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2010. Simpsons testimony in open court will offer a first look at the aging 65-year-old former football star since he was handcuffed and sent to prison more than four years ago. Simpson didnt testify at his Las Vegas trial or in the historic case that led to his 1995 acquittal in the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. Instead of an expensive suit and tie, Simpson will be dressed in blue Nevada Department of Corrections clothing -- greyer, heavier and limping a little more from long-ago knee injuries, friends say. He is now Nevada inmate No. 1027820, a far cry from his playing days when Simpson wore jersey No. 32, won the Heisman Trophy, earned the nickname "The Juice" in the NFL and gained induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Simpson is scheduled to be in Clark County District Court beginning Monday for the entire five-day hearing. He could testify Wednesday before a judge who has agreed to hear 19 separate points, mostly claiming that lawyer Yale Galanter provided such poor representation that Simpson deserves a new trial. Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year sentence that makes him first eligible for parole at age 70. If he wins a new trial, prosecutors would have to decide whether to retry him for an incident that happened in September 2007 or offer a plea deal sparing the time and expense of another trial. In a sworn statement outlining his upcoming testimony, Simpson said he told Galanter in advance that he planned to confront two collectibles dealers in Las Vegas and retrieve what he expected would be family photos, heirlooms and personal sports mementoes that he believed had been stolen from him after his "trial of the century" in Los Angeles. "I fully disclosed my plan to Yale Galanter, and he advised me that I was within my legal rights," he said. Simpson said the two even had dinner the night before in Las Vegas, and Galanter told him the plan was OK as long as he didnt trespass on private property or use physical force. Simpson claims that at trial, Galanter told him he didnt need to testify because prosecutors failed to prove their case, and didnt tell him about a plea offer by prosecutors that would have gotten him a minimum of two years in prison. "Had I understood that there was an actual chance of conviction, I would have accepted such an offer," Simpson said. Galanter, who is expected to testify Friday, declined to comment ahead of his appearance. Throwing trial attorneys under the bus on appeals is a common legal tactic for people convicted of crimes -- but rarely successful. The burden of proof in a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus is on the defendant to convince a judge -- not a jury -- that the trial was tainted and new evidence might yield acquittal. Its not yet clear whether Clark County District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell will make an immediate ruling or issue a written decision later. Bell didnt handle the trial, and both prosecutors have retired. Most of the colorful cast of characters involved in Simpsons first trial wont be involved in next weeks hearing. Attorneys put the number of expected witnesses at 16 -- including lawyers, experts, Simpson friends and his 44-year-old daughter, Arnelle. Some legal observers think Simpson has a chance at getting a new trial. "If Mr. Simpson can establish that the strategy of the defence was motivated by his lawyers self-interest, and that it compromised Mr. Simpsons trial rights, he could overcome the defendants burden and establish the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel sufficient to get him a new trial," said Las Vegas attorney Michael Cristalli. The veteran lawyer handled the successful appeal, retrial and 2004 acquittal of a former stripper in the 1998 death of wealthy casino executive Ted Binion. Simpsons 94-page petition for a new trial exempts trial co-counsel Gabriel Grasso from the conflict-of-interest question. It says Grasso wasnt made aware of Galanters pre-incident advice, wasnt privy to private strategy discussions between Galanter and Simpson, and was rebuked when he tried to advise Simpson without Galanters approval. Former District Attorney David Roger is due to testify. In an interview, he recalled discussing a possible plea with Galanter during trial, but said discussions didnt yield "negotiations in the legal sense." Galanter said Simpson might be willing to serve 24 months in prison, Roger recalled. Prosecutors countered with 30 months. Galanter later said Simpson wanted no more than 12 months. Roger said he thought Galanter had spoken with Simpson. "Thats where the conversation ended," the former prosecutor said. H. Leon Simon, the chief deputy district attorney now handling the case, said Simpson isnt owed a new trial. Evidence was overwhelming, he said. Hotel security video showed Simpson and five other men arriving at the Palace Station casino-hotel with middleman Thomas Riccio, and leaving with boxes of items. Jurors heard audio recordings of Simpson and others talking about the plan ahead of time and of the five-minute confrontation involving nine men crammed around a big bed in a small room. Two of the men said they had guns. Simpson trial co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart served more than two years of a 7 1/2-to-27 year prison sentence before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. The justices ruled Simpsons fame tainted the Las Vegas proceedings and Stewart should have been tried separately. Stewart took a plea deal to avoid a retrial and was convicted of felony robbery and conspiracy but set free. "As far as Simpson is concerned, I wish him luck," said Stewart, now 59 and driving limousine in New Orleans. "He needs to tell the truth about Yale Galanter. Yale only represented him to protect himself, to make sure his name didnt come up."Jack Youngblood Jersey . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Buy Cheap Rams Jerseys . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. http://www.cheapramsjerseyschina.com/joseph-noteboom-jersey/ . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Youth Rams Jerseys . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Cheap Rams Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence.NEWPORT, R.I. -- Everybody in the American Athletic Conference is prepared for the storm. Publicly, nobody is panicking.The AAC held its annual gathering in New England to eat lobster, kick off its fourth football season and start talking about what happens if the conference loses members to Big 12 expansion.I cannot stand here this morning and ignore the recent Big 12 news regarding realignment, Commissioner Mike Aresco said during his state of the conference address Tuesday. Although I do want to address it at the outset, Im not going to dwell on it.Coming off a successful 2015 on the field that included 10 victories against Power Five teams and four teams ranked in the Top 25 at some point, the conference is again facing uncertainty. While Aresco likes to tout the American as the equal of a Power Five league -- he uses the term Power Six -- the fact is there is still a wide gap in revenue and prestige between the AAC and high-resource conferences.The Big 12 offers a chance for two or maybe even four schools access to the pot of gold that comes with Power Five inclusion. And most of the 12 schools in the American have expressed interest either publicly or privately in joining. There are no secrets here.I think its pretty evident whos been maneuvering, but we respect each other enough to not put each other on the spot, said East Carolina athletic director Jeff Compher, who is the chairman of the American ADs group.Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen said: Were committed to the present right now. I think that keeps us balanced.Aresco met with AAC athletic directors in Rhode Island over the last three days. He said the meetings were productive and all schools participated. While the public nature of the Big 12s exploration of expansion is not ideal, Aresco said, he is pleased with the transparency of his members.I think weve set a tone that we are going to approach this in a workman like fashion, Aresco said in an interview with the AP. Were not going to be morose. Were not going to be actinng like woe is me.dddddddddddd Just the opposite of that. This just means there is work to be done.Aresco said contingency plans to deal with possible departures have been discussed. He would not give details, but said the league has considered that it could lose as many as four members, dropping membership to eight.All things considered I think wed like to be back at 12 if we lose some schools because it gives you more (television) inventory, Aresco said. The American is halfway through a six-year television deal with ESPN.There is only a handful of schools that I think would be attractive to us. What we dont want to do is risk the progress weve made, put it in jeopardy. We dont want to do anything to dilute our brand in any way. Could we stay at 10? If it makes more sense, absolutely. Especially in the short-term. We can play a championship game at 10.Aresco said he has not had an extensive conversation with Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby about the Big 12s plans, but they did talk. Aresco said he is comfortable that he will be kept in the loop as the Big 12s plans come into focus. Aresco said Bowlsby did not lay out a timetable other than to say the Big 12 hoped to work quickly.Aresco took over as commissioner in 2012 when the American was still the Big East. The conference was falling apart during that round of realignment. Ultimately, defections forced the conference into a near-complete makeover and what emerged was the American Athletic Conference. Aresco said having gone through the Big Easts downfall will help the American get through this.This is not going to be fun. Its not going to be easy, Aresco said. We know we had to rebuild three years ago. I think it was a dire situation then. Its probably less so now but that doesnt mean that there wont be specific challenges. Were trying to be prepared.---Follow Ralph D. 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