ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons wont apologize for somehow being in first place with a losing record. James Washington Steelers Jersey .They shouldnt have to.This one is on the NFL.The league should seriously consider realignment — or, at the very least, a revamping of the playoff system — to prevent a repeat of this looming post-season embarrassment: the Falcons or New Orleans Saints or whoever emerges as champion of the woeful NFC South actually getting to host a first-round game when they have no business playing after December.Its set up the way it is, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan said with a shrug. Were not worried about what people say.The NFL should be.The playoffs are supposed to reward the best teams, and no one would put Atlanta (4-6), New Orleans (4-6), Carolina (3-7-1) or Tampa Bay (2-8) in that group.Yep, even the Buccaneers are still in the post-season mix, a team that trailed the Falcons 56-0 early in the season and just doubled its win output with a victory over Washington.Normally this time of year, when youre talking about that second win, youre not throwing a lot of parties, coach Lovie Smith quipped. But for us, to be two wins out of first place in the win column, that is big.Its not like this is all that unusual, either.In the last six years, three mediocre teams — San Diego in 2008 and Denver in 2011 with 8-8 records, Seattle in 2010 at 7-9 — not only made the playoffs at the expense of more-deserving teams, but won their opening playoff games against superior opponents largely because they were playing at home.The NFL, you see, gives the top four seeds in each conference to the division champions, regardless of whether a wild-card team — or, as was the case in the aforementioned years — both wild-card teams have better records.Thats certainly going to be the case again this season in the NFC.The Falcons, in fact, could actually win the division with a 6-10 record, having beaten no one outside the South.If that happens, they would still open the playoffs at the Georgia Dome.Other than the World Series, where home-field advantage is ridiculously based on which league wins the All-Star Game, every other post-season series in every other sport gives that edge to the team with the best record.The NBA saw the light a few years ago. Its six division champions are still guaranteed playoff berths and slotted into the top three seeds in each conference, but they dont get home court if they team theyre paired against has a better mark.Its past time for the NFL to adopt something similar.But that doesnt go far enough.The current eight-division alignment and scheduling format should be scrapped immediately, since it clearly breeds these sort of travesties. With only four teams in each division, and just six of 16 games against division opponents, its really not all that farfetched to have wind up with a wretched group such as the NFC South.The NFL should go back to the six-division alignment that worked just fine for so many years before the league expanded to 32 teams. It might look something like this:— AFC East: Buffalo, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Miami, New England and New York Jets.— AFC Central: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.— AFC West: Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego.— NFC East: Carolina, Dallas, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington.— NFC Central: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota and St. Louis.— NFC West: Arizona, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle.This alignment would preserve most of the most important rivalries, with only one geographical anomaly — Atlanta and New Orleans in the NFC West — that actually has historical precedence. The Falcons and the Saints were members of that division from 1970 until the current alignment was adopted for the 2002 season.With larger divisions, the odds are much better that at least one worthy team would emerge from each, allowing the NFL to still guarantee automatic berths to each division champion while freeing up two extra wild-card berths for the worthiest teams. Also, this setup would lead to half of the 16-game schedule being made up of division contests; in the five-team divisions, everyone would still play home and home, while six-team divisions would have three home-and-homes on a rotating basis and single games against the other two rivals.The rest of the schedule would be made up of four intra-conference games, and retain the current setup of four games against the opposing conference. It wouldnt be quite as neat as the current arrangement, but it shouldnt be much of a problem coming up with a formula — based largely on playing teams with similar records the previous season — that would result in even more parity.Parity is fine.A losing team in the playoffs is not.___Paul Newberry is a national writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Morgan Burnett Steelers Jersey .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov. Sean Davis Jersey . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/ .ca. Hi Kerry, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality.Its a big week for NCAA college players. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that a group of Northwestern college football players, led by quarterback Kain Colter, are employees and have the right to form a union and bargain collectively. The NLRB is a U.S. government agency that deals with labor law. This matters because as a bargaining unit, players as a group can now start to ask for more - a lot more. Think about how baseball was changed when the players unionized and fought for their rights. So this decision will potentially have a major impact on college sports and force the NCAA to change how it does business. For decades, the NCAA has offered scholarships in exchange for athletic services. However, the NLRB says that falls short, and with this ruling, threatens to tear down the very foundation of the NCAA and its billion dollar business model. Control Control Control In concluding that players were entitled to employee status, NLRB director Peter Ohr focused on the level of control that Northwestern exercised over its student athletes. That level of control, he said, moved players from being primarily students to being athletes that have earned the right to unionize. If they were primarily students, they couldnt unionize. In ruling that Northwestern players were athletes first (and students second), he relied on a bunch of factors to demonstrate control over the players that no longer made them primarily students (like others on campus) and effectively turned them into employees. Here are a few of these factors: (a) The NCAA limits athletic activities to 20 hours per week during the season and 8 hours during the offseason. Despite that, Northwestern players dedicated 50 to 60 hours a week on football during training camp, and another 40 to 50 hours a week during the football season. While the workouts that would take players beyond the 20 hour cap were deemed "voluntary", players knew if they didnt show up there would be serious consequences. Some days players had to engage in football related activities from 5:45am to 10:30pm. Devoting so many hours a week to football was a massive consideration for the NLRB. The players basically had a second job: football. (b) Players allege they were steered away from certain courses because they conflicted with football. Colter wanted to go to medical school but was discouraged from taking a pre-med course because it conflicted with his football schedule. He ultimately ended up transferring to psychology. (c) Players have to abide by restrictive social media policies, and cant refuse a friend request on Facebook from a coach. They have to let the coach know the type of car they drive. As well, players are subject to alcohol and drug policies, as well as anti-gambling and anti-hazing policies. A violation of these policies can result in serious sanctions, including suspensions and revocation of scholarships. (d) If a player wants to get a job off campus, he needs permmission. Custom Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys. Hes required to live on campus while a freshman and sophomore. He also cant do interviews without the coachs approval. (e) The player cant profit off his own likeness and image; thats reserved for the university and the NCAA. (f) A player is prohibited from swearing in public, and if a player "embarrasses" the team, he can be suspended for one game. A second offense can result in a 1 year suspension. Players who transfer to another school to play football must sit out a year before they can compete for the new school. (g) During the regular season, the players must wear a suit to home games. (h) Players are required to remain within a six-hour radius of campus prior to football games. These are just some of the factors that Ohr relied on when he concluded that the university was exercising a level of control that converted the students into employees. Also important was that Northwestern was providing compensation in the form of scholarships in return for services that had nothing to do with academics. All The Benchmarks of an Employment Relationship So when it all shakes out, Ohr believed that this case had all the standard benchmarks of an employer/employee relationship, including controlling the employees schedule, the discretion to hire, fire or suspend the employee and evidence of compensation. What Do the Players Want They want to negotiate limits on practice time and medical benefits. Thats their starting point. They will probably also ask for a stipend to reflect cost of attendance. Remember that scholarships cover a lot – living expenses, tuition, room and board and book fees – but not everything. At some point, players may ask to be paid. The NCAA is big business. The media deal for NCAA football is a $7.3 billion/10 year deal, while the March Madness deal is valued at $10.8 billion over 14 years. Northwestern generated $235 million in revenue between 2003 and 2012 off things like ticket sales, television contracts, merchandise sales and licensing agreements. In 2012-2013 alone, the program generated $30.1 million in revenue, while spending about $5 million on scholarships. The university also says that its expenses add up to about $22 million all in for the football program. In theory, the players as employees could also be entitled to disability insurance, workers compensation and maybe even a pension. They could also be taxed on non-scholarship income they receive. Next Steps: Appeal Central As for next steps, the players will hold a vote to form a union, while Northwestern appeals the decision to the next level at the NLRB. If Northwestern is unsuccessful on appeal, they will probably refuse to bargain with the students and take the matter to federal court. So we could still be years away from a final decision. That being said, this was a potentially historic win for the players and a step closer toward sharing in the billion dollar pie that is the NCAA. NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys China NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Gear Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys China NFL Gear Cheap Authentic Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '