re teams you can get in the playoffs, I think the bigger the rec

That the College Football Playoff rankings differ so markedly from the media polls is perhaps the biggest sign of the wisdom of the selection committee waiting until November to make its first decision. Preseason polls are an exercise in dart throwing, and speaking as a former 17-year AP voter, as well as someone who participates in the ESPN Power Rankings, I can attest to how easy it is to get locked into a viewpoint. That said, I am in no way, shape or form advocating to dump the polls. Theyre fun. And they serve their original purpose: to sell newspapers (and, these days, clicks).1. For those of you who, like me, have drawn blood scratching your head over how Texas A&M is ranked ahead of Washington in the first CFP rankings, there are two consolations. The odds of the rankings being the same on Dec. 4 as they are on Nov. 3 are slight. And if this is how it ends, we would have a fantastic set of New Years Six bowls: Ohio State-Washington in the Rose Bowl;?Oklahoma-Auburn in the Sugar Bowl;?Louisville-Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl; and Western Michigan-Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. The traditional bowls have suffered in the playoff era; anything that benefits them is a plus.2. Clemson is No. 2, despite being pushed to the limit in three of its past four games. The Tigers trailed No. 7 Louisville and No. 22?Florida State?in the fourth quarter, and they needed overtime to beat NC State. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney agrees with the premise that the Tigers arent playing their best football. But he also chose to look at the big picture that illustrates how far Clemson has progressed in his nine seasons as head coach. In 2010, we had five losses by seven points or less, Swinney said, and this year, we have five wins by seven points or less. That is a program. Thats culture.3. The rise of Colorado?is one of the feel-good stories of the 2016 season, and I mean that literally. The No. 15 Buffaloes, 6-2 and leading the Pac-12 South by a half-game (4-1) over No. 16 Utah and USC, have remained remarkably injury-free this season. Fourteen players have started every game, and four others have started seven of eight. That makes the Buffs fortunate, but theres one other stat that illustrates why they are good: Six players have started 30 games. Head coach Mike MacIntyre recruited well, and Colorado took its beatings for three years. The Buffs are grown up now.4. The Campbell Trophy finalists announced by the National Football Foundation are a mix of 12 players with big names and small, from big schools and small, all of whom share in common a high GPA and the ability to play college football. Quarterbacks Taysom Hill of BYU, Zach Terrell of No. 23 Western Michigan, and Cooper Rush of Central Michigan are the stars of the list, but a special shout out goes to Duke safety DeVon Edwards, a finalist despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in September. The finalists receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner, announced at the Hall of Fame dinner in New York on Dec. 6, will receive an additional $7,000 grant.5. When the conference commissioners created the College Football Playoff, they debated at length over whether a team must win its conference to reach the semifinals. They decided against that requirement in order to ensure the playoff got the four best teams, not the four best conference champions. However, the commissioners didnt extend the same logic to the Group of 5 conferences when awarding them a New Years Six bowl slot. No. 23 Western Michigan is only one slot ahead of No. 24 Boise State. But the latter Broncos, after losing at Wyoming on Saturday, need the Cowboys to lose twice in order to win the MWC West. I understand the hackles that would be raised if a nonchampion got the berth. But why pick the best team in one instance and not the other?6. Fourth-quarter point differential is an interesting stat. No. 1 Alabama has its smallest point differential in the fourth quarter (plus-41), but the Crimson Tide have begun six of eight fourth quarters with at least a three-score lead. With Nebraska, however, it means something. According to ESPNs Stats & Information research, the Huskers lead the FBS in the fourth quarter at plus-95. What makes that impressive is that Nebraska has entered the fourth quarter at a cumulative plus-23. The Huskers have had two leads of 11 points, four leads of seven points or fewer and have trailed twice. That plus-95 has made Nebraska 7-1, with the loss coming in overtime on Saturday at Wisconsin.7. When Vanderbilt beat FCS Tennessee State 35-17 on Oct. 22, the Commodores not only won consecutive games for the first time in head coach Derek Masons three seasons, they also reached .500 (4-4) for the first time. One big reason is that Vandy is taking care of the ball. They have gone from minus-16 in 2014 to minus-8 in 2015 to this seasons plus-6. Their seven giveaways are two fewer than any other SEC team. If the Commodores are to get their first winning record under Mason, they have to do so at No. 9 Auburn, which is second in fewest turnovers, with nine. College Jerseys China . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Custom College Jerseys . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. https://www.fakecollegejerseys.com/ . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Fake College Jerseys From China . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale College Jerseys . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Lets get two things out of the way right away before I try to build a case.One, the NHL has no intention of changing its current playoff structure.None, whatsoever, said commissioner Gary Bettman.Two, when it was suggested by an enterprising hockey writer that a play-in game might help stagnating league revenues, well, the commissioner disagreed. Not with the premise that a playoff game would help, but that revenues are stagnating. He even threw in a with all due respect to soften the blow.Its not stagnating, Bettman said. Its growing and will continue to grow.Got it. Everything is great.And when it comes to the playoffs, hes right. They are great. Stanley Cup playoff hockey is the best postseason in sports. Ill fight to the death on that one.Thats why its time for more.Parity is at an all-time high. As teammate Pierre LeBrun likes to say, the standings are like a crushed beer can. At the end of this season, were going to look at a team that finishes No. 9 in the conference and think that it would have had a really good chance at causing damage in the playoffs.As of Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars are all outside a playoff spot. A good team is going to miss the postseason, a good team that could win a series or three if it makes it into the field.It makes the NHL absolutely primed for a play-in game.Let the No. 8 seed host the No. 9 seed in a game that allows the survivor to enter the big pool. Its not a novel idea.?Detroit Red Wings?GM Ken Holland pitched it in a recent interview with TSN. Lets not forget, this is the guy who gave us 3-on-3 overtime. So lets not just dismiss it.Its also been a part of baseball since 2012. The play-in game this year between the?San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets?on ESPN was the highest-rated wild-card game ever. It was the most streamed MLB event ever. It had an overnight rating of 5.8. The Stanley Cup finals averaged a 2.3. OK, that was low, but Im trying to make a point here.The drama would be irresistible. And it could be a way to get other networks involved annd invested in hockey.ddddddddddddImagine a one-game playoff between?Steven Stamkos Lightning and Alex Ovechkins Washington Capitals, two teams with Stanley Cup aspirations. The current standings suggest it wouldnt be out of the question. Or what about a one-game play-in game between Connor McDavids?Edmonton Oilers?versus Patrik Laines?Winnipeg Jets?People would watch. People would most definitely watch.Arizona Coyotes?co-owner Anthony LeBlanc certainly has noticed the success in baseball and it has him intrigued.I can just look at baseball from a fans perspective, it keeps people engaged in their team longer. Theres a chance they can get that final spot, LeBlanc said. Our league tends to have some competition coming in for those last couple spots the last couple of weeks, but not always. I kind of like it.OK, so we have an owner who sounds like he could be on board.What about the greatest player of all time?The more people, the more teams you can get in the playoffs, I think the bigger the recognition for our game gets, Wayne Gretzky told ESPN.com. I think its good.He did add that the league is usually smart about these things. So if they like it, great. If they dont, there might be a reason.Theyre always very reasonable about doing their homework and background checks on what is really good for the game, Gretzky said. If thats what they decide, great.Currently, 16 of 30 teams make the playoffs. Thats 53 percent of the league. Adding a play-in game in each conference along with Vegas would mean that 58 percent of the NHL could claim a playoff appearance.Maybe that cheapens the playoffs. Considering the excitement that would go into an annual play-in night, its worth the trade-off.At least thats the thought here.Commish?Random musings dont always turn into reality, Bettman said. You may think you can create a new reality, but the fact of the matter is we think the structure we have now works extraordinarily well. ' ' '