Commissioners deny request to expand CFP
The conference commissioners who manage the College Football Playoff decided to stick with a fourteam format during this pandemicaltered season after the Pac-12 made a request to consider expansion.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said Wednesday that Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott asked the rest of management committee to consider having eight teams play for the national championship this season.
The request was made because of disruptions to the season caused by the pandemic. Conferences aren’t playing the same number of games, are starting play at different times and there are no interconference matchups between Power Five leagues.
Hancock said any decision on expansion would need the approval of the CFP’s presidential oversight committee after a recommendation by commissioners.
The Pac-12 postponed its fall football season on Aug. 11, but changed course last week and decided to have a seven-game season starting Nov. 7.
The Big Ten also decided to conduct a fall season after initially postponing and have set plans to have its teams play as many as nine games, starting Oct. 24.
The MAC (six games) and Mountain West (eight games) are also starting late.
Auto racing: NASCAR announced big changes to the 2021 schedule, delivering six road courses, the first dirt race for the Cup Series since 1970 and new stops in Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas. Dropped from the lineup were Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway. Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway each lost one of two Cup Series points races. Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Speedway in South Carolina each added a second race to their schedules. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will move the Cup Series cars to its road course. The revamped “Brickyard Weekend” also will feature a new IndyCar Series race, making it a doubleheader for the second year in a row. NASCAR’s All-Star race moves from Charlotte to Fort Worth.
NFL: NFL Players Association President JC Tretter asked teams to change all field surfaces to natural grass to reduce the risk of injury to players. The Browns center cited the league’s official injury reports from 2012-2018 to state his case that natural grass fields provide a much lower risk for injuries. Fifteen teams play their home games on artificial turf. ... Two-time All-Pro WRMichael Thomas returned to Saints practice on a limited basis after missing the last two games with a high ankle sprain. His status for Sunday’s game against the Lions remained unclear.
NHL: The Rangers bought out the contract of five-time All-Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, parting ways with one of their greatest players in franchise history after 15 seasons. Lundqvist, 38, won the Vezina Trophy (2011-12) and led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final (2014).