2012 » Beckham in the midfielders final home match from Paris Saint-Ge

Having led his team to the NCAA Division I FCS Championship Game last season, Jacksonville State coach John Grass summed up the national playoffs best on Sunday:A team must keep the focus high because it will keep facing great opponents throughout a deep playoff run.A lot of those teams will come from the power conferences as the Big Sky, CAA Football, Missouri Valley and Southern Conference collected four qualifiers each while combining for two-thirds of the 24-team field announced Sunday. Leading the way was No. 1 seed North Dakota State, which seeks to add to its NCAA-record five straight national titles.Through the playoffs, its all (about) how your team plays, Grass said on the ESPNU selection show. I think our guys have some experience there. Its an interesting deal that everybody raises their level of play up and youve got to be ready for that.The single-elimination playoffs begin at campus sites next Saturday and culminate with the FCS championship game Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas.As long as North Dakota State (10-1), the Missouri Valley co-champ, and No. 2 seed Eastern Washington (10-1), the Big Sky co-champ, remain alive, they are guaranteed home games through the semifinals.Thats particularly noteworthy to North Dakota State -- and the Bison competition, for that matter -- as their dynasty has only had home games at the Fargodome prior to the past five championship games.Our fan base really amps it up when we get to the playoffs, coach Chris Klieman said. I know theyre excited (that) as long as were playing, its going to be at Gate City Bank Field. We look forward to a great playoff.Jacksonville State (10-1), the Ohio Valley Conference champ, earned the No. 3 seed and CAA champ James Madison (10-1) was seeded fourth. Southland Conference champ Sam Houston State (11-0), which enters the playoffs as the only unbeaten FCS team, was the No. 5 seed, followed by SoCon champ The Citadel (10-1), Big Sky co-champ North Dakota (9-2) and Missouri Valley co-champ South Dakota State (8-3). The eighth-seeded Jackrabbits earned the Valleys automatic bid because of a 19-17 win over North Dakota State at the Fargodome.Ten conferences have automatic bids in the playoffs. While the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference relinquished its bid last year to begin sending its champion to the Celebration Bowl, its runner-up, North Carolina A&T (9-2), earned one of the 14 at-large bids.The last teams to miss on at-large bids were Albany (7-4) and Fordham (8-3), selection committee chair Brian Hutchinson said.Interestingly, the last eight FCS champions are in the field with NDSU (2011-15), Eastern Washington (2010), Villanova (2009) and Richmond (2008). Four-time champ Youngstown State (1991, 1993-94, 1997) and James Madison (2004) help combine on 13 past champions.Yup, as Grass said, there are plenty of great teams in the FCS playoffs.2016 NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP(Campus sites until the championship game)(All times ET)FIRST ROUNDSaturday, Nov. 26Saint Francis (7-4) at Villanova (8-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Weber State (7-4) at Chattanooga (8-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Lehigh (9-2) at New Hampshire (7-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Charleston Southern (7-3) at Wofford (8-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)North Carolina A&T (9-2) at Richmond (8-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Illinois State (6-5) at Central Arkansas (9-2), 3 p.m. (ESPN3)Samford (7-4) at Youngstown State (8-3), 5 p.m. (ESPN3)San Diego (9-1) at Cal Poly (7-4), 7 p.m. (ESPN3)SECOND ROUNDSaturday, Dec. 3Lehigh/New Hampshire winner at No. 4 seed James Madison (10-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Samford/Youngstown State winner at No. 3 seed Jacksonville State (10-1), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)Saint Francis/Villanova winner at No. 8 seed South Dakota State (8-3), 3 p.m. (ESPN3)Weber State/Chattanooga winner at No. 5 seed Sam Houston State (11-0), 3 p.m. (ESPN3)San Diego/Cal Poly winner at No. 1 seed North Dakota State (10-1), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)Illinois State/Central Arkansas winner at No. 2 seed Eastern Washington (10-1), 4 p.m. (ESPN3)Charleston Southern/Wofford winner at No. 6 seed The Citadel (10-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN3)North Carolina A&T/Richmond winner at No. 7 seed North Dakota (9-2), 6 p.m. (ESPN3)QUARTERFINALSFriday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10Second-round winners, TBA (ESPN Networks)SEMIFINALSFriday, Dec. 16Quarterfinal winners, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)Saturday, Dec. 17Quarterfinal winners, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)CHAMPIONSHIPSaturday, Jan. 7Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TexasSemifinal winners, noon (ESPN2)Hydro Flask Cheapest . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Hydro Flask Ireland .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. http://www.cheaphydroflaskireland.com/32-oz-hydro-flask-outlet.html . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Cheap Hydro Flask Ireland . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Hydro Flask Coffee Ireland . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep.MANCHESTER, England -- Chelsea surged to the top of the weekly Associated Press global football poll after winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League for the 11th straight season. There was also a Chelsea player at the summit of the player rankings, with Fernando Torres sharing first place with Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery after a week that saw the Spain striker belatedly regain his goalscoring form to impress the 14 voters on the panel. "Great week for Torres and Spanish Chelsea in the last days with (Rafa) BenDitez," said Orefeo Suarez, from Spains El Mundo. "The Spanish coach said Torres is coming back with him to the level he had in Liverpool." Torres scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over Benfica in the Europa League final before firing home the winner against Everton on the final day of the Premier League season, securing the team third place in the standings. He had previously netted just once in his previous eight matches. "He had to be under a fair amount of pressure considering his scoring troubles," said Tom Timmermann, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Chelsea edged Bayern into second place -- but the German side could be back on top spot next week if it wins the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Ribery looks in prime form for that match, after scoring twice in a wild 4-3 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach in which Bayern came back from conceding three times in the opening 10 minutes. "If there was any doubt that Franck Ribery has been Bayerns most important player this season, the Frenchman put them to rest on the final day of the Bundesliga season scoring twice and laying on a further two assists in another world-class performance," said James Thorogood, of Bundesliga.com. Atletico Madrid was rewarded for its victory over city rival Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, climbing to third in the team poll and having two players -- goalkeeper Thibault Courtois (fourth) and striker Radamel Falcao (ninth) -- in the top 10 of the player rankings. "What a Friday nightt at the Bernabeu for Atletico Madrid," said Julian Bennetts, from Hayters news agency in England.dddddddddddd "They had not beaten their old rivals Real Madrid in 14 years until their incredible victory in the Copa del Rey, and they celebrated with understandable gusto." To extend the weeks Chelsea theme, Courtois is loan to Atletico from the London club, which is widely reported to be one of the many teams chasing the signature of Radamel Falcao this summer. Romelu Lukaku, who was third in the player poll after grabbing a second-half hat trick for West Bromwich Albion in a 5-5 draw with Manchester United, is also a Chelsea player. Arsenal placed fourth courtesy of its wins over Wigan and Newcastle that capped a wonderful end-of-season recovery and clinched the fourth and final Champions League berth in the Premier League. By sealing the Portuguese title, FC Porto was fifth and Barcelona came sixth after beating Valladolid 2-1 in the Spanish league. Zlatan Ibrahimovic stole some of the spotlight from David Beckham in the midfielders final home match from Paris Saint-Germain, scoring a double in a 3-1 win over Brest in the French league for eighth place in the player list. His 29 points put him just behind AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, whose converted penalty helped AC Milan into next seasons Champions League, but ahead of Falcao and Robin van Persie (10th). ------ AP Global Football Rankings for the week ending May 20. Based on 14 voters: 10 points for first, nine for second, etc. Previous rankings in parentheses. Teams: 1. Chelsea (3), 108 points. 2. Bayern Munich (4), 91. 3. Atletico Madrid, 83. 4. Arsenal, 55. 5. FC Porto (6), 52. 6. Barcelona (1), 49. 7. Manchester United (4), 35. 8. AC Milan, 34. 9. Real Sociedad, 24. 10. Paris Saint-Germain (5), 21. ------ Players: 1. Franck Ribery (9), 72 points. (tie) Fernando Torres, 72. 3. Romelu Lukaku, 54. 4. Thibault Courtois, 45. 5. Branislav Ivanovic, 37. 6. Gareth Bale, 35. 7. Mario Balotelli, 30. 8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 29. 9. Radamel Falcao, 25. 10. Robin van Persie, 23. ' ' '