see hes doing it on purpose to run into me,"

NEW YORK -- NFL owners likely will consider expanding the playoffs by two teams, beginning in 2015, when they hold their spring meetings in Orlando next week, but a vote on the subject is uncertain. A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. The current format of four division winners and two wild-card teams has existed since 2002, when Houston joined the league as an expansion team, bringing the membership to 32. "There will be a report on the potential of expanded playoffs," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday. "We dont know if there will be any vote at this meeting." Also on the agenda will be alterations to extra points, changing who oversees video replay reviews, and further clamping down on the use of racial slurs by players during games. A change in the playoff structure would be needed if 14 teams qualify, with the top seed in each conference still getting a first-round bye. The next six teams would play in what is now the wild-card round, with the second seed facing No. 7, the third seed taking on No. 6 and the fourth and fifth seeds playing each other. But the NFLs influential competition committee is not presenting a proposal to the owners. One reason the league is looking at more playoff teams is a stalemate in talks with the players union about expanding the regular season from 16 games. Another is the added revenue stream two more post-season games would provide, with those matches up for bidding among the current network partners -- Fox, NBC, ESPN and CBS, which just grabbed an eight-week Thursday night package -- and potential new broadcasters such as Turner Sports. Scheduling of the extra wild-card games also would be dicey, although Monday night would seem logical for one of them. Of course, adding two more playoff teams enhances the chances for teams with .500 or losing records to get in. Commissioner Roger Goodell has suggested a change to the one-point kick on extra points might be needed because they have become so automatic. New England has proposed moving the line of scrimmage to the 25 for a one-point try, but leaving it at the 2-yard line for a 2-point conversion. "There are a lot of different views in respect to the extra point," said Falcons President Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee. "There were 1,267 tried and 1,262 made (in 2013), and so there is that thought with the extra point maybe we need to add little more skill, and one of the ways to do it might be the way New England proposed." But its a long shot that anything will be done next week, except perhaps experimenting with longer kicks for one week of the preseason. The Patriots also proposed extending the height of the goal posts 5 feet to make it easier to determine whether a kick is good. New England also suggested allowing coaches challenges on everything except scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed. Replay as an officiating tool always is in the news, and owners are expected to discuss having the NFLs director of officiating, Dean Blandino and his staff at the league offices be involved in some review decisions. The league saw several inexplicable replay decisions made by referees last season, although McKay and Rams coach Jeff Fisher, the committees other co-chairman, praised the overall quality of officiating. As for the use of racial slurs and verbal abuse, there already are rules on the books to deal with the issue. But an emphasis on stronger discipline will be discussed by the owners, and McKay noted that taunting fouls went up significantly from 2012 to 2013. "We are going beyond the field of play, we are going to the workplace," Fisher said of trying to eliminate such language. "This is going to be a very significant point of emphasis." Andrew Cogliano Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Corey Perry Jersey . - The situation looked bleak at best for the coach Doc Rivers Clippers — down by four points with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. http://www.authenticduckspro.com/ . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. Custom Anaheim Ducks Jerseys . Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. Ryan Getzlaf Jersey . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p.At the morning skate, head coach Randy Carlyle insisted Tuesdays poor effort against the Florida Panthers would not be soon forgotten, calling for a bounce back performance on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a similarly dubious start – failing to register a shot until the 9:50 mark of the first period – the Leafs turned things around, controlling much of the final 50 minutes en route to a 4-1 victory. "Huge, big," said Jonathan Bernier on the importance of the win. "I thought we started slow a little bit but when we got that power play we got our legs and momentum back." While the Leafs did not score on the power play late in the first period, it did shift the play into the Lightning end consistently for the first time after Toronto was on their heels in their own zone for much of the first ten minutes. "Definitely," said Carlyle, agreeing that that was when the momentum turned. "We didnt have anything going for ourselves but then we hemmed them in their zone, we had the puck in their zone for probably a minute and a half. Didnt score on it but we created some momentum for ourselves and thats when we started to play." The win brought the Leafs to within one point of the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division with one game remaining for each team prior to the Olympic break. "Well outside of the first ten minutes, I thought we played a pretty solid game," said Carlyle. "We gave up some chances but we created some chances with our forecheck and we were opportunistic in the hockey game. We needed a response from our effort the other night and we got it tonight." Five Points 1) Shifting The Lines For the second straight game, Carlyle experimented with his line combinations, this time right from the start. Dressing eleven forwards (only three centres) and seven defencemen, Carlyle found a recipe that yielded three dangerous lines throughout the game. van Riemsdyk - Bozak - KesselLupul - Kadri - ClarksonRaymond - Kulemin - BodieMcLaren - McClement Gunnarsson - PhaneufGardiner - FransonRielly - GleasonRanger Carlyle employed Jay McClement on the second and third lines in key defensive zone faceoff situations and cycled Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson through as the extra wingers on the fourth line. "We tried to create a little more balance," said Carlyle. "With Clarkson coming back into the line up, we felt we could move him up. Kulemin going to the middle allowed him to use his strength and ability to get on pucks. Bodies been playing very well and we felt that we owed him more minutes and when you have Mason Raymond on that line, they can create things." The experiment, which Carlyle indicated had been considered for a couple of days, paid off for the Leafs with each of the top three lines contributing a goal. 2) Gleason, Bernier Take Umbrage To JT Brown With less than two minutes left, JT Brown drove to the net with the puck, running over Jonathan Bernier, creating a scrum behind the net after Bernier and then Gleason took offence. "Its a 4-1 game and theres a minute and a half left and you can see hes doing it on purpose to run into me," said Bernier. "I just didnt like that move." "I guess he could pull up a little bit, didnt look like he was stopping anytime soon," added Gleason, who drew praise from Bernier for stepping in to defend him. The ruckus even drew Lightning netminder Cedrick Desjardins from his net but Bernier admitted he never had a notion to engage him. "Yeah I saw him, but at this point in the season, you dont want to get hurt," said the Leafs goalie. "You have to make the right decision." 3) Paul Ranger Returns To Tampa Paul Ranger had not played since January 7 against the New York Islanders – a span of 14 games – but drew bback in against the Lightning when Randy Carlyle opted to dress seven defencemen.ddddddddddddMaking the return even more significant was the fact that it came in the building Ranger spent the first five years and 270 games of his NHL career before taking a three year sabbatical from the NHL. "Heck yeah it does, a lot," Ranger said on TSN 1050 Radio at the first intermission when asked if his return to Tampa meant anything extra to him. Ranger said he got the news that he would play just before the warm up, a gesture from Randy Carlyle that he sincerely appreciated. "I thanked (Carlyle) for letting me play in this game and giving me an opportunity to contribute," Ranger said after the game. 4) Gleason Gives His Dad a Show Eleven years in the NHL has afforded Tim Gleason the opportunity to bring his dad Kevin on several team road trips. But they hadnt been fruitful trips until tonight. "Long story short, my Dads been on about seven or eight of these ("Dads trips") and we have yet to win one until tonight," said Gleason. "So Im going to have a beer with my dad on the plane." 5) Gone Fishing The Maple Leafs took advantage of their afternoon between games in the Sunshine State on Wednesday to embark on a fishing trip with their fathers organized by Paul Ranger, who became familiar with the sights in Tampa Bay during his five season spent with the Lightning. "I havent done much fishing in my lifetime; I was kind of a newbie," said Nazem Kadri, who caught a small shark. "But it was fun, especially being out with the guys, pretty much the whole team went so it was good just to be surrounded with that environment and have some fun with it." Accompanied on the trip by expert guides, Cody Franson explained that he enjoyed learning about some of the strategy behind successful fishing. "Fishing with guides, it was pretty interesting to see the sport behind fishing," he said. "We go fishing back home and sometimes you go out for three or four hours and dont catch anything but these guys, its a game for them and they know what theyre doing out there." Jake Gardiner, who grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, said his father John is far more of an experienced fisherman than he is, though he had some success of his own, with a couple of different bites. Holding onto them proved harder than catching them though. "I was surprised about how slimy those things were," Jake explained. "I dropped it once and could barely hold onto it the second time. Its not like fishing in Minnesota, theyre a lot slimier here, I think they need that to survive." Stats Pack: 9:50: Leafs register their first shot; made it 6-1 Lightning at the time12-9: Shots after first period in favour of Leafs36-34: Total shots in favour of Leafs44-22: Faceoff wins in favour of the Lightning3/14: Kulemins night in the face off circle, centering Raymond and Bodie12:52: Ice time for Ranger in his first action in 14 games12:21: Ice time for Bodie1: Power play opportunity for each team14: Penalty minutes incurred by Tim Gleason, stepping in to defend Jonathan Bernier after the netminder was run over by JT Miller late in the third period Quote of the Night: "Id rather a guy pull me out of the pile and do something instead of fill me knowing that Ive got no hands. It is what it is; hes frustrated but at least pull me out of the pile and do it than throwing them from nowhere. We got two points so I could care less really." – Tim Gleason on Radko Gudas jumping into the scrum that developed after JT Brown ran over Jonathan Bernier Up Next: The Maple Leafs return home to Air Canada Centre to face the Vancouver Canucks at 6pm on Saturday night. The Canucks beat the Leafs 4-0 on November 2 in their previous meeting, the same game David Bolland went down with a severed tendon. 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