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Opposing fans don’t want to hear it. Trolls don’t want to tweet it. Playoff expansion supporters want no part of it. MORE: Tua vs. Trevor could be first of many meetings It’s the philosophy that explains why No. 1 Alabama (14-0) and No. 2 Clemson (14-0) are back in the College Football Playoff championship game at Levi’s Stadium on Monday. “Everybody wants to expand these playoffs,” Swinney said. “We’ve had a playoff since September....

SI.com reports former Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will take over as the Crimson Tide’s secondary coach. Tucker, a graduate assistant under Saban at Michigan State in 1997, has been a coach in the NFL the past 10 seasons. MORE: Why Alabama won’t go away — recruiting | SN early Top 10 He was also the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator from 2009-2012 and interim head coach in 2011 when Jack Del Rio was fired in Jacksonville....

Before we get into the Week 1 forecasts, here’s a reminder that if you have any questions about sports weather or how weather could impact play (and, potentially, your fantasy, DFS, and gambling decisions), don’t hesitate to reach out to RotoGrinders’ meteorologist Kevin Roth on Twitter (@KevinRothWx) or check out the hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders’ exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring....

Line: Patriots -19Over/under: 48 In Week 1, the Baltimore Ravens were 7-point road favorites and destroyed the hapless Miami Dolphins 59-10, covering the spread by a remarkable 42 points. The oddsmakers have anticipated the public’s overreaction, as clearly indicated in the NFL odds to both of these teams and have the Ravens priced as 13.5-point home favorites to the Arizona Cardinals and the Dolphins as a 19-point home underdog to the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots....

ESPN reports that beginning with next week’s games, teams will no longer be able to shoot video in their stadiums during games and post it on social media. They will also be banned from using live-streaming apps such as Periscope to stream video during games. MORE: Week 5 power rankings The new policy also prohibits teams from creating their own video using highlights from a televised game, then posting it to social media....

Gaming fans across the internet have been extremely vocal about the dislike for these tokens, and for good reason. NFTs are assumed as just another added expense to the play experience for the biggest games, and does very little to enhance the player experience, all while filling the publishers’ already big pockets even deeper. There’s some truth to these statements, but upon closer inspection — the inclusion of these items might benefit the industry in the long term, albeit when looked through a very particular lens....

Running from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, teams will hit the ice across North America, including in a number of non-NHL cities. The Seattle Kraken, holding off on their first official home game at Climate Pledge Arena until the regular season (Oct. 23), will be the home team at three neutral site games: Sept. 26 vs. Canucks in Spokane, Wash.; Oct. 1 vs. Oilers in Everett, Wash.; Oct. 2 vs....

Here's a quick progress report on where each franchise stands. And remember, the Capitals (Barry Trotz) and Predators (Peter Laviolette) have already found their guys. Pittsburgh Penguins Fired: Dan Bylsma, after a 51-24-7 season and second-round playoff loss. Reported candidates: Marc Crawford (four-time NHL coach, 1995 Stanley Cup champion); John Hynes (AHL Wilkes-Barre coach); Ulf Samuelsson (Rangers assistant, former Penguins defenseman); John Stevens (Kings assistant, ex-Flyers head coach); Bill Peters (Red Wings assistant, former coach of Chicago’s AHL team); Ron Wilson (four-time head coach, fired by Maple Leafs in 2012)....

The upper limit will be set at $73 million for 2014-15, commissioner Gary Bettman said at the Board of Governors meeting — assuming the Canadian dollar’s value stays constant. That’d be a boon for big-market teams with money tied up in bad contracts; think Flyers (more than $9 million committed to Vincent Lecavalier and R.J. Umberger alone) and Leafs ($5.25 million to David Clarkson). That won’t resolve all their problems, but it’ll help them field competitive teams, and regime changes there over the last year mean that they’re less likely to waste their money....

The Panthers are showing the rest of the NHL how to play the hand you’re dealt. They’re the latest (and perhaps best) example of games in hand, in that they only matter if you win them. And boy are they winning them. Seemingly forgotten earlier in the season — and a quiet non-player at the trade deadline — the Panthers are flying up the Eastern Conference standings and are an odds-on favorite to get into the postseason....

Calvert, 29, was hit in the head by an Elias Pettersson shot from near point-blank range with two minutes and 50 seconds left in the third period on Saturday and appeared in obvious distress. Still, play went on — even after Pettersson raised his hand to indicate his opponent needed immediate help. The Canucks scored thirteen seconds later while Calvert remained down on the ice, struggling to get up. After the game, Colorado players were still fuming after the game that on-ice officials didn’t stop the game to allow medical staff to attend to their teammate....

San Jose’s offense woke up in the third period after the Golden Knights built up a four-goal lead and chased the Sharks’ starting goaltender Matt Murray. After Alex Tuch’s second goal of the night made it 4-0 and Aaron Dell took over between the pipes for San Jose, the Sharks made Marc-Andre Fleury look human for the first time all night. Kevin Labanc kicked off San Jose’s comeback by robbing Fleury from his fourth shutout of the postseason with his first career playoff goal....

Tyler Myers’ released a perfectly placed shot — rehearsed, he said, during practice — perpendicular to the goal line it crossed 8:41 into Thursday’s Game 7, rattling the Vezina Trophy finalis and silencing the Bridgestone Arena crowd early. Paul Stastny’s equally fluky goal two minutes later then chased Rinne from the game and precipitated the rest of a 5-1 Jets win that sent them to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history....

San Jose lost four key players — defenseman Erik Karlsson, forwards Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi, and captain Joe Pavelski — to apparent injury during Sunday’s 5-0 loss to St. Louis in Game 5 on Sunday, leaving the Sharks bench looking bare. The sight also offered little optimism for the Sharks entering Tuesday’s decisive Game 6 at St. Louis, with the Blues in position to close out the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Bruins await their opponent after sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals....

Several players — e.g., James Neal and Bobby Ryan — are expected to find NHL jobs for the season. Other guys are bubble depth signings to push youngsters to up their games in camps. They could still get a deal if they up their game too, as the PTO allows players to practice and play in exhibition matches. NHL 2021-22: Top 10 defensemen | Top 10 goalies | Top 10 forwards | Top 25 under 25...

Coming off a disappointing second-round playoff elimination, the Sharks face some crucial offseason decisions. They have $60.4 million invested in 20 players for 2018-19. With the salary cap projected to reach $80 million, general manager Doug Wilson must decide how best to invest those additional cap dollars. His biggest decisions will involve pending free-agent forwards Joe Thornton and Evander Kane. Thornton, 38, is the long-time face of the Sharks’ franchise....

The Jets suspended Byfuglien, 34, in September to protect salary cap flexibility after a preseason leave of absence raised questions about whether he will continue playing in the NHL at all. Byfuglien never reported to the team for training camp or the regular season, and he is listed as “suspended without pay” by CapFriendly for this reason — allowing Byfuglien’s $7.6 million contract to not count against the team’s salary cap....

Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds - How to Take Familiars Get Biscuits The first step toward catching Familiars in Ni no Kuni is to buy some Biscuits through the Basic Shop. For full clarity, this shop is accessed by clicking on the Shop icon in the bottom-right corner of the in-game menu, and the Biscuits can be found in the Adventure Item section of the Basic Shop. Notably, players can only buy 30 Biscuits per week through the shop, and they may want to split their purchases up across the seven different varieties that are available....

However, players who want to perfect their approach of the Rogue in this Ni no Kuni game might want to watch their builds closely to ensure domination in the game. Thankfully, there are certain aspects of the Rogue’s toolkit that can make them a formidable force in the battlefield. The Rogue: The Archetypal Hunter, Offensive Support The Rogue is the dedicated long-range physical offensive powerhouse in Cross Words. Unlike the Witch, who is more inclined to dish out magic damage as a soloist, the Rogue is a long-ranged skirmisher adept in taunting enemies while dodging any incoming threats....

Balotelli sustained the injury during a training session on Tuesday and sat out Thursday’s Europa League 2-0 defeat at Schalke 04 that sent the Azurean side out of the competition. “He will not be there for the next three games in the 10 coming days,” Favre was quoted as saying on the club’s website (www.ogcnice.com). “For the games that will follow, we don’t know yet.” Balotelli will therefore miss Sunday’s home game against Bastia, the trip to En Avant Guingamp and another home match against Toulouse....