overtime before falling 4-1 to the Canadians on Wednesday.Eur

HOOVER, Ala. -- Bill Hancock said the College Football Playoff is considering moving the playoff semifinals from New Years Eve.Hancock, the CFPs executive director, said the move could happen no sooner than after the 2018 regular season.Were exploring if theres a better [date] for the semifinals, Hancock said. Were thinking about if New Years Eve is the way to go.The fact that Hancock publicly addressed the possibility of moving the games off New Years Eve indicates it is likely to happen, a source said.Theres still work to be done, a source said. However, I doubt Bill would have said something if he didnt think he could get the room [of the commissioners] there.Last seasons Orange Bowl semifinal on New Years Eve between Clemson and Oklahoma drew a 9.1 rating, a 38.5 percent drop compared to the previous years Rose Bowl semifinal on New Years Day, which had a 14.8 rating. The number of viewers dropped nearly 45 percent from 28.1 million for the Rose to 15.6 million for the Orange.Last seasons Cotton Bowl semifinal on New Years Eve between Alabama and Michigan State drew a 9.6 rating, a 36.8 percent drop compared to the previous years Sugar Bowl semifinal (a 15.2 rating) on New Years Day. The viewership dropped nearly 35 percent, from 28.2 million to 18.5 million.All CFP games are televised on ESPN.The FBS conference commissioners who created the CFP in 2012 said they wanted to start a new tradition by playing the semifinals on New Years Eve two of every three years during the 12-year contract with ESPN. When the Rose and Sugar Bowls host the semifinal games, those would always be played on New Years Day.After the just-completed Year 2, Hancock said the CFP stood by its decision to keep the semifinals on New Years Eve to start a new tradition in viewing habits. That stance, however, has softened with Hancock admitting the bigger priority is finding a date to get the most people to watch.Even before Year 2, ESPN executives lobbied extensively for the semifinals to be moved off New Years Eve. But the conference commissioners wouldnt budge.This seasons semifinals at the Peach and Fiesta bowls will be on New Years Eve with the CFP title game Jan. 9 in Tampa, Florida.The 2017 season semifinals at the Rose and Sugar bowls will be on Jan. 1, so the earliest the Playoff could move the semifinals is Year 5 -- after the 2018 regular season. Those semifinals are currently scheduled for the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. 31, 2017.The CFP has a 12-year contract with ESPN to televise the four-team playoffs. Hancock said there has been no talk from university presidents or commissioners about expanding the playoff field. Hancock added that after six years of the playoff -- after the 2019 regular season -- the CFP can look in and potentially change three of the six bowls -- the Fiesta, Cotton and Peach.Hancock also said the Big 12s decision to add a conference championship game after the 2017 season will greatly help the league in the CFP. The Big 12 was the only Power 5 league that didnt have a conference title game and didnt play 13 games. Hancock said they talked a lot with the Big 12 and told them how much adding another quality opponent would help.It gives them another quality opponent, Hancock said. It is a game-changer.Nike Air Max 95 Clearance . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Cheap Air Max 90 . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.airmaxclearance.us/ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Nike Air Max Outlet . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Air Max Sneaker 2017 . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No.TORONTO -- Daniel Sedin knows the World Cup of Hockey may be his final chance to represent Sweden at a best-on-best tournament along with twin brother Henrik.With that in mind, theres no shortage of motivation for the 35-year-old Vancouver Canucks forwards heading into Sundays semifinal meeting with Team Europe.We realize as we get older theres not going to be a lot of these tournaments moving forward, Daniel Sedin said. We dont know about the (2018) Olympics yet, but were enjoying this. Were having a lot of fun and getting a chance to play in the semifinals, it was tough getting here.Were enjoying every day and well have some fun on Sunday.The last time Sweden won gold at a best-on-best tournament was the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Sweden lost to Canada in the gold medal game at the 2014 Sochi Games.Sweden won its round-robin opener at the World Cup 2-1 against Russia on Sunday and blanked Finland 2-0 on Wednesday before falling 4-3 in overtime to Team North America on Wednesday.The Swedes are hoping to learn from their loss against the Under-23 team moving forward. They were thoroughly outplayed early, quickly going down 2-0 before rallying to force overtime.I think we can definitely learn (about) being ready when the puck drops, those first 10 minutes were pretty embarrassing from our part, said defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. The Europeans have some speed in their lineup as well so we have to be ready when the puck drops. We werent ready for Team North America, but somehow we managed to a big comeback there.After losing the first two pre-tournament games by a combined 11-4 score to the North Amerricans, Team Europe bounced back to defeat Sweden 6-2 in its final tune up game.ddddddddddddThey surprised us a little bit in the exhibition game, but they wont surprise us on Sunday, Sedin said. They wait for you to make mistakes, and then they create offence from that. Weve got to be careful on Sunday. We cant just go on offence like we did in that pre-tournament game.I think our defense was jumping a little bit too much and got too involved in the offense. I think we have to respect their forwards.Team Europe, made up of players from eight different countries, stunned the Americans 3-0 in the tournament opener and defeated the Czechs 3-2 in overtime before falling 4-1 to the Canadians on Wednesday.European captain Anze Kopitar pointed to the second period of the pre-tournament game against Team North America in Montreal as the turning point for the team of players unfamiliar with playing with one another.I think the first period in Montreal really opened our eyes and we really showed ourselves how we dont want to play, Kopitar said of the second pre-tournament game. After that, we kind of realized how we have to play: smart (and) with a lot of patience, theres no flash to it. Were playing a boring style of hockey, but its turned out to be a pretty successful one so were obviously proud in doing that and were going to continue doing that.The winner of Saturdays Canada-Russia semifinal will play the winner of Sweden-Europe in a best-of-three final beginning on Tuesday. ' ' '