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HOUSTON, Texas — Executive director Bill Hancock said the College Football Playoff has contacted the FBI in response to threats he said were directed at himself, CFP staff members and selection committee members following this year’s controversial exclusion of undefeated ACC champion Florida State.

Hancock declined to say specifically what the CFP has done to protect committee members and staff, but said it has “taken steps” since Selection Day on Dec. 3.

“We’ve stayed ahead of it,” Hancock said following the CFP’s annual meeting prior to Monday night’s CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington. “We’ve been in contact with the FBI just to say, ‘We got this. We got a threat on my house. We want you to know about it and tell us what should we do about it?’ Most of us did.”

After excluding the first undefeated Power 5 champion in the CFP era, Hancock said some committee and staff members received threats at their homes and offices, and all of them received “the disgusting, profanity-laced emails and phone calls.”

“Every NCAA sports committee receives criticism from the teams who were left out,” Hancock said, “I’ve been doing this 35 years. I’ve seen it and I understand those fans, but this one was absolutely over the top and inappropriate. In my 35 years, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Hancock said he doesn’t think this will deter people from volunteering to join the 13-member committee in the future. The CFP will have to replace seven people who rotate off the group this year.

“This is the most prestigious sports committee in the NCAA structure,” Hancock. “It’s an honor to be a part of it, and moreso it’s an honor to give something back to the game that you love. I get that every time I call a prospective new member — ‘Yes, I love this game and want to give something back to it.'”

Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, who is the chair of the CFP’s board of managers, said he thought the committee got it right. The committee chose No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama.

Texas and Alabama were both one-loss conference champions ranked ahead of the Seminoles, and both lost in their respective CFP semifinals.

“They don’t have to do this, and they followed their process to a ‘T,’ and I do believe they got it right,” said Keenum, who leads the group of 11 presidents and chancellors who control the CFP. “We have the best four teams in the playoff, and as evidenced tonight, we have the best two teams playing for the national championship.

“Is there disappointment when your team doesn’t make it into the playoff? Absolutely, and I feel for them, but to castigate or criticize or threaten people that were just doing their job, the process and following it, I thought was very unfair.”

While no changes were made on Monday to how the CFP committee selects the top teams, the group did rubber-stamp the FBS commissioners’ decision to require a conference has eight members in order to compete for a league title and earn an automatic bid in the new 12-team format. The decision mirrors the NCAA bylaw of what constitutes a conference, and was enacted at the CFP level to address Oregon State and Washington State.

“That’s based on an NCAA description,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “There’s a bit of common sense. I don’t think anybody sits there and says a two-member league constitutes a conference. It’s not about Power 5. That’s a colloquial that implies to the autonomy allocation and observations over time about strength.”

The expanded field, which begins this fall, will reward the highest-ranked conference champions, which is eventually expected to be the five highest-ranked league winners and the next seven-highest ranked teams. The board did not vote on the proposed 5+7 model on Monday, though, because the Pac-12 asked for more time while it continues to sort out its legal issues.

Washington State president Kirk Schulz represents the Pac-12 on the CFP board, and only Washington State and Oregon State remain in the conference after sweeping realignment.

“I would be shocked if we do not have a 5-7 format for this coming playoff,” Keenum said. “I just think out of respect for our colleague and the Pac-12, they asked for a bit more time for us to consider it. We as a board thought that was a reasonable request and granted that.”

In November, the commissioners were unanimous in their support for 5+7, but Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff abstained from voting. Oregon State and Washington State have agreed to a one-year scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West Conference that will allow them to compete for the national title in a role similar to an independent like Notre Dame. Those schools cannot compete for a conference title.

“It’s a great partnership,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said. “They needed to retain their independence in order to sort out the Pac-12. We really got two additional games that will bring a really good strength of schedule to our teams.”

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Jets’ Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

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Jets' Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.

Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.

Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.

The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects to have leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen available in the Western Conference semifinals after both missed Dallas’ first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Following their thrilling Game 7 comeback victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night, the Stars await the winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. If the Blues win, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer said after Saturday’s series clincher. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles. It depends on when we start the series, how much time we have between now and Game 1. We’ll have a little better idea as we get closer.”

Robertson, 25, who posted 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games this season, suffered a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale April 16 and was considered week-to-week at the time.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old defenseman had surgery Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season. In 50 games, he collected 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) and averaged 25:10 of ice time, which ranked fifth among NHL blueliners.

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

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Red Sox 1B Casas out for year after knee surgery

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered a ruptured tendon in his left knee and is out for the remainder of the season, the team said.

The 25-year-old Casas ruptured his patellar tendon running to first on a slow roller up the line and fell awkwardly in Boston’s victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. After laying on his back in pain — not moving the knee — he was carted off on a stretcher before being taken to a Boston hospital.

The team announced Sunday that he had surgery for a left patellar tendon repair at Massachusetts General Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. Eric Berkson.

“I talked to him last night,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in a news conference on Saturday discussing the injury outside Boston’s clubhouse. “We exchanged text messages [Saturday]. We all care deeply about just his overall wellbeing.”

Manager Alex Cora said Casas worked hard during the offseason to play every day after missing a large amount of last year with torn cartilage in his rib cage.

“He did an outstanding job in the offseason to put himself in that situation. It didn’t start the way he wanted it to,” Cora said of Casas’ struggles. “He was going to play and play a lot. Now we’ve got to focus on the rehab after the surgery and hopefully get him back stronger than ever and ready to go next year.”

Casas batted just .182 with three homers and 11 RBIs, but Breslow said his loss will be felt, especially with the team’s lack of depth at the position.

“He certainly struggled through the first month of the season but that didn’t change what we believe his production was capable of being,” Breslow said. “It’s a big loss. In addition to what we think we were going to get on the offensive side, he was kind of like a stabilizing presence on the defensive side of the field — also a big personality and a big part of the clubhouse.”

During spring training, Casas talked about how his focus at the plate this season was being more relaxed.

“You really want it until you don’t,” he said, explaining his thoughts while standing at his locker. “Then you can’t want it that much.”

Now, he’ll have to focus on his recovery plan for next season.

Casas, a left-handed batter, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with infielder/outfielder Abraham Toro selected from Triple-A Worcester.

Cora said Toro — a switch-hitter — will split time at first along with Romy Gonzalez. who bats right-handed.

Breslow said the team might be exploring a long-term replacement.

“This is unfortunately an opportunity to explore what’s available,” he said. “We’ll look both internally and outside as well.”

Cora said there are no plans to move Rafael Devers, who was replaced at third by offseason free-agent acquisition Alex Bregman and moved to DH.

“We asked him to do something in spring training that in the beginning he didn’t agree with it and now he’s very comfortable doing what he’s doing,” Cora said. “Like I told you guys in spring training, he’s my DH.”

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