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AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said Wednesday the pending litigation with Florida State and Clemson is “disruptive” and “harmful” but it has not changed the dynamic between them as the league wrapped up three days of meetings.

Phillips and league representatives, including athletic directors, football coaches and men’s and women’s basketball coaches met to discuss a big list of topics — including a possible settlement in the House vs. NCAA case, CFP expansion, revenue distribution and changing the perception around the league.

But with Florida State, Clemson and the ACC engaged in lawsuits against each other over the league’s withdrawal penalty and grant of rights, uncertainty continues to hang around the league as it charts a new course with three new members joining in the fall. Cal, Stanford and SMU also participated in the league meetings.

Phillips acknowledged what remains ongoing with Clemson and Florida State, saying, “It’s difficult, it’s disruptive, it’s harmful but that’s the world we live in. It hasn’t changed one iota about how we’ve interacted with them and it shouldn’t.”

It should be noted Clemson and Florida State were full participants in the meetings over the past three days. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said Tuesday the meetings were “cordial.” When asked if their future in the league could be salvaged, Alford said, “We’ll just wait for that to play out.”

Asked the same question Wednesday about salvaging a future with Florida State and Clemson in the league, Phillips said, “You have to stay optimistic, and you work through these things. I don’t know where it’s going to go. But I will continue to remain optimistic about our league … and I won’t ever change until somebody else tells me differently. Am I going to fight and protect the ACC? Absolutely. I have to do that. That’s my responsibility. So we’ll see where it goes.”

Clemson and Florida State have specifically pointed to a mounting revenue gap with the Big Ten and SEC as reasons their future in the league is untenable. But Phillips said the ACC has worked to address those issues, including full distribution of the ACC Network and success initiatives that reward on-field success.

“If we’re chasing money, then we’re chasing money,” Phillips said. “But I believe we’re also trying to chase success. And so if it’s just a money issue, which no one can show me that money equates success, you can maybe show me some examples, but I can show you some examples also, where schools have done really well on the national scene with some less revenue.”

That revenue gap will grow further in the expanded 12-team CFP, with the SEC and Big Ten set to earn a larger share of that revenue pie. North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Tuesday he was “disappointed” that money will not be equally distributed.

Phillips said Wednesday when the final breakdown was made over CFP appearances, the ACC was slotted in 17 to 18%.

“I felt like I negotiated hard, just like every conference did and we got to a place that at the end of the day, ‘Do you love it?’ You don’t love it, but it certainly was better than where we started, and it’s more than we’ve ever had relative to CFP dollars. But I again understand it causes even a greater gap.”

Phillips said it was imperative to get more than one team into the CFP, and addressed trying to change the perception surrounding the way the league has performed in football.

“We have to try to change that, and we’re determined to do that,” he said.

As for the settlement talks in House vs. NCAA, Phillips said he could not get into specifics because too many unknowns remain about what the final dollars will look like. But the ACC presidents and chancellors will meet next week in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their spring meetings to discuss the issue further.

He also noted that the league has been able to find success across the board, with five national titles so far in this athletics season, and does not want that to get overshadowed with what is playing out in courtrooms across three states.

“These cases are going to take a little while,” Phillips said. “We’ll have to work through them. We have 10,000 student athletes that are really doing well that are performing at the highest level. I hope that we don’t lose sight of while all this is going on, the conference continues to do really well. We’ll manage what we have to manage.”

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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

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Bennett scores 2 as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

RALEIGH, N.C. — Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida’s three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk also scored in another tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while Carter Verhaeghe had three assists.

Bennett scored a second time by skating in to clean up an attempt at the right post in the final minute of the second period to make it 4-0, ending a long shift in Carolina’s end prolonged by Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns being stuck on the ice after breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a goal midway through the third as punctuation.

Bobrovsky had his third shutout of the playoffs this year and the sixth of his career, with Florida’s defense smothering a Hurricanes team that typically peppers the net with shots but found little daylight.

Florida had already ripped home-ice advantage away Tuesday night with a 5-2 win, the opener in a rematch of the 2023 conference final swept by the Panthers with four one-goal wins. Florida only tightened its grip on the series with this one and now heads back south to host Game 3 on Saturday night.

On the other bench, the Hurricanes found themselves on the receiving end of a crushing loss by a jarringly lopsided margin. And it marked their 14th straight loss in a conference final, going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the ’23 tilt with Florida.

The Hurricanes managed just three first-period shots and just seven through two periods, prompting a typically rowdy home crowd to vent its frustrations with two chants of “Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!” Carolina had a brief boost when Sebastian Aho scored on a turnover in the first minute of the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1.

But Florida successfully challenged that the play was offsides. It turned out Burns’ stick-check on Tkachuk near the blue line forced the puck back into the zone and right to Aho in the slot for the finish.

By the third period, Carolina had pulled veteran Frederik Andersen from net and went with backup Pyotr Kochetkov for the final period.

It wasn’t all great news for Florida. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart was knocked from the game in the first period after taking a hit from Aho in the left leg, causing Reinhart’s knee to bend awkwardly.

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

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Danes oust Canada at hockey worlds; U.S. wins

HERNING, Denmark — Nick Olesen scored with 49 seconds left as Denmark stunned Canada 2-1 at the ice hockey world championship Thursday to advance to the semifinals.

“I have no words, it’s unbelievable,” Olesen said after Denmark reached the last four for the first time. “The fans here were cheering for us the whole game and they helped us get the win. It’s crazy.”

Denmark, in the sold-out arena in Herning, had tied it with 2:17 remaining when Nikolaj Ehlers scored through traffic in only his second game at the tournament following his Winnipeg Jets being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

The Danes had pulled goaltender Frederik Dichow for the extra attacker before Ehlers struck.

Canada outshot Denmark 30-11 in the first two periods but couldn’t solve Dichow, who made 39 saves in all, until 5:17 into the third when captain Sidney Crosby fed Travis Sanheim to score into the roof of the net. Canada was outshot 22-10 in the final period, though.

Denmark has only two NHL players at the worlds, while Canada has only two who don’t play at the NHL level.

“I’m disappointed,” Crosby said. “We got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think tonight was necessarily our best, but we still found a way to give ourselves a lead … but it turned pretty quick.”

Crosby returned to the worlds for the first time since 2015, when he captained Canada to gold. He was expected to do it again with teammates like Nathan MacKinnon.

Canada is the most successful nation at the tournament with 28 titles but has finished empty-handed in the past two editions after it was beaten by Sweden in the bronze medal game last year.

It was only the second win for Denmark over Canada at the worlds.

The semifinals are set for Saturday: Denmark will play Switzerland; and the United States will face Sweden.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. advanced by beating Finland 5-2 backed by Conor Garland‘s two power-play goals

Trailing 2-1 in the middle period, the Americans needed 71 seconds to turn things around when defenseman Zeev Buium put home a rebound at 23:53 before Garland’s second goal restored the U.S. lead.

“I really liked how we stayed with it and built as the game wore on,” U.S. head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We got off to a bit of a slow start but really found our game as time wore on. I give our guys a lot of credit as they beat an excellent hockey team today.”

Garland had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead 4:50 into the game when he received a cross-ice pass from Logan Cooley to beat goalie Juuse Saros from the right circle.

Finland tied it at 1-1 on Eeli Tolvanen‘s power-play goal. Patrik Puistola scored from the slot on another power play 7:46 into the second period for Finland to take a 2-1 lead.

The Americans added two more goals in the third. Shane Pinto scored the fourth 5:52 into the final period and captain Clayton Keller finished the scoring into an empty net.

The U.S. team hasn’t won a medal since taking bronze in 2021. The Finns have been waiting for a medal since they won gold in 2022.

Sweden delighted the home crowd in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm by eliminating defending champion Czechia with a 5-2 victory.

Lucas Raymond and Leo Carlsson led the co-host with two goals each.

Earlier in Herning, last year’s runner-up Switzerland advanced by blanking Austria 6-0.

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Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

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Shanahan out as Leafs president after 11 seasons

After 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan will not have his contract renewed as president and alternate governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The organization announced its decision in a statement Thursday, ending months of speculation surrounding Shanahan’s future with the franchise.

The 56-year-old Shanahan, a Hall of Famer as a player, had held the position since April 2014.

“Over the past 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan has made countless contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, off the ice and in the community,” Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president/CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement. “… Our responsibility and driving motivation, however, is to add a new chapter to the Maple Leafs’ championship history, and it was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead.”

Pelley is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday.

In his own public statement, Shanahan said he was informed during a meeting Thursday of MLSE’s choice not to bring him back. He thanked the board for its support during his tenure in Toronto and shared his admiration for the Leafs’ remaining leadership group that he helped put in place, including general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube.

“I greatly enjoyed working with Brad and Craig, and I firmly believe they are excellent in their roles and have done a great job in their time with the team,” Shanahan said. “Also, I want to thank the players. They are committed and passionate about delivering a championship to this city and will do everything within their power to accomplish that goal. I wish them all the very best.”

The Maple Leafs, prior to Thursday’s announcement, had already granted permission to the New York Islanders to speak with Shanahan about a position with their team.

Shanahan, a native of the Toronto area, joined the Leafs as they prepared to enter a rebuilding phase, installing what publicly became known as the “Shanaplan.” He revamped the front office immediately, hiring former GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock in 2015. Toronto posted a last-place finish in 2015-16 and won the NHL’s draft lottery, using the first overall pick in 2016 to select Auston Matthews.

The center jumpstarted Toronto’s retooling with the Leafs’ Core Four — along with Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. In Shanahan’s tenure, the Leafs enjoyed regular-season success that failed to transition into playoff wins, despite multiple changes to staff along the way.

Despite an impressive roster of talent, Toronto has bowed out of the first round in six of its last eight full-season playoff series.

The Leafs did advance to the second round this season and held a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers, but they lost three of the last four, including blowout defeats at home in Games 5 and 7.

Toronto, which recorded seven straight losses in winner-take-all games under Shanahan, has not advanced to the third round since 2002, and its Stanley Cup drought now sits at 58 years.

Shanahan won the Stanley Cup three times with the Red Wings during his 21-year playing career from 1987-2009. He spent time with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit and the New York Rangers.

A month after hanging up his skates, Shanahan went to work in the league office as VP of hockey and business development. There, he worked with Islanders co-owner John Collins and was later promoted to senior vice president and took over the NHL’s disciplinary responsibilities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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