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WASHINGTON — A who’s who of leaders from the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC gathered on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with state representatives and lobby for federal NIL guidelines — a strong showing of unity from the NCAA’s largest and wealthiest conferences just days after a federal court hearing inched college athletics closer to a landmark settlement.

University presidents and chancellors, athletic directors and a few coaches and players concluded the day with a cocktail reception at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti participated in a brief panel recapping the day.

“We’re kind of in a seminal moment,” Phillips said. “We’re trying to find something that has sustainability to it. It’s a modernization of college sports. I think for all of us, we are passionate about access and affordability to higher education … at the heart of this thing is opportunities for young men and women. Times have changed, and whether we like all the things that have occurred, or we don’t, we find ourselves in a position where we are major stewards of the future of college sports.”

While the commissioners have made multiple trips to the nation’s capital to push for federal NIL legislation, it’s not often — if at all — that such a large contingency from their respective leagues has joined them, and all four at the same time.

Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, fresh off a Final Four appearance, attended the event, along with Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian.

“We’ve been here repeatedly,” Sankey said of the commissioners. “The reality is the timing of the House settlement, the new Congress and when we planned really months ago to be here, there was a nexus of issues. We know there’s conversations taking place. We’ve educated, I think, effectively members of the House and Senate, and we need to keep pushing and to do that with our universities is much healthier than simply doing that as commissioners and doing so in a coordinated way across the four conferences.”

On Monday, there was a federal court hearing in Oakland, California, regarding the highly publicized House settlement in which the NCAA has agreed to pay roughly $2.8 billion in damages to past and current athletes.

Wednesday’s meeting also came on the heels of March Madness and a week from the opening of the spring transfer portal window.

“Everyone knows there’s a sense of urgency,” Yormark said. “Time is not on our side, so we have to move quickly and swiftly.

“The settlement is one thing, but it needs to be codified on the Hill.”

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

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U.S. shut out by Switzerland at hockey worlds

HERNING, Denmark — Switzerland, last year’s runner-up, shut out the United States 3-0 and handed the Americans their first loss at the ice hockey world championship Monday.

Damien Riat, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dean Kukan scored in the Group B game in Herning. Netminder Leonardo Genoni stopped 23 shots for the shutout.

“Give credit to Switzerland,” U.S. coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “But I know our group has a lot more in them. We’ll regroup and get ready to play Norway.”

Riat put Switzerland ahead with 7:14 remaining in the first period, redirecting the puck into the goal from the air. It was the first goal the U.S. conceded at the tournament.

The second followed 3:13 later by Siegenthaler from the blue line. Kukan’s came halfway through the final period from the top of the left circle.

“After the first goal we did a better job,” Swiss forward Kevin Fiala said. “We got into it more and more, and shut them out.”

Fiala recorded an assist in his first game at the worlds. He joined the Swiss late after his Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the first round.

U.S. goalie Joey Daccord made 24 saves.

The U.S., which beat Denmark 5-0 and Hungary 6-0 in its first two games, will next face Norway on Wednesday.

In other games, Martin Necas had two goals and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists as the defending champion Czech Republic used a four-goal middle period to ease past Denmark 7-2.

Nick Olesen also had a goal and an assist for Denmark.

In Stockholm, Sweden topped archrival Finland 2-1 on goals from Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin for a third victory in regulation from three games.

Austria defeated Slovakia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

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Leafs’ Domi fined $5K for hit to Panthers’ Barkov

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Leafs' Domi fined K for hit to Panthers' Barkov

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was fined $5,000 — the maximum amount allowed by the league’s collective bargaining agreement — for boarding Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov as time expired in Game 4 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday.

Toronto was trailing 2-0 when the final buzzer sounded, and Domi hit Barkov from behind, sending him headfirst into the boards. Domi was given a minor penalty for boarding at the time while several other scrums broke out before officials moved players off the ice.

Florida’s victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-all. Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Toronto.

Toronto coach Craig Berube didn’t comment on the Domi hit directly Monday, but he did say he thought Dmitry Kulikov‘s hit on Mitch Marner “was way worse”

On that play, the Panthers defenseman caught Marner up high with an elbow, leaving the Leafs forward momentarily dazed. No penalty was called on Kulikov.

It wasn’t the first elbowing incident to draw attention in the series.

In Game 1, Panthers forward Sam Bennett sent an elbow to the head of Leafs netminder Anthony Stolarz shortly before Stolarz left the game. He was later hospitalized for further evaluation and hasn’t been able to resume skating since. There is currently no timeline for his return.

The physical intensity of the series might continue to rise now that it’s down to being a best-of-three. Based on how Game 4 played out, the Leafs are prepared to push back when they host Florida on Wednesday.

“We expected [the physicality], and I think we’re fine with it,” Berube said. “We’re handling it. We’re physical. I thought we were the more physical team [in Game 4].”

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Stars’ Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

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Stars' Heiskanen still on pace to return vs. Jets

DALLAS — Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects injured star defenseman Miro Heiskanen to play in their series against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I’m still sticking by what I projected: that we would see him in the second round,” DeBoer said Monday during an optional Dallas practice.

The Stars lead their series with the Jets 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night.

Heiskanen remains day-to-day, with him not having played since Jan. 28, when his left knee was injured in a collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Heiskanen had knee surgery and has been working his way back to the lineup since Winnipeg’s opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. Heiskanen had 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season, averaging 25:10 in ice time.

Monday was a scheduled off day for Heiskanen. DeBoer said he’ll be “back at it tomorrow.” The coach said that any decision on Heiskanen’s status will be made together by the coach, the player and the team’s medical staff.

Last round, DeBoer said everything was “on the table” to ease Heiskanen back into the lineup, including playing seven defensemen. The coach said he’s not looking for the 25-year-old defenseman to log his usual minutes right away, having ranked fifth in the NHL in average ice time during the regular season.

“I don’t think there are specific restrictions, but we’re not going to put ‘im out on the ice for 30 minutes in his first game back in three months,” DeBoer said. “We’ll have to be smart about that.”

Dallas forward Jason Robertson has seen firsthand what it’s like to go from watching the playoffs to competing in them. He returned to the Stars’ lineup after being injured in an April 16 game, making his postseason debut in Game 1 at Winnipeg.

“You’re coming back from injury, so whatever you had is obviously going to bother you. So that’s the No. 1 thing. And then getting up to game speed in the playoffs is a different animal,” he said. “There’s no hiding out there. Every moment’s heightened, every missed assignment, any forecheck. Anytime you get beat up the ice, everything just gets heightened. So you just try to be super simple out there until you get your legs back and get in game shape. That could take a little bit.”

The Stars have weathered the loss of Heiskanen thanks to the depth of their defense corps. Thomas Harley has filled in on the power play, collecting four points in the postseason. Veteran Cody Ceci has handled an increase of over two minutes per game in ice time. Players such as Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic have played effectively, DeBoer said.

“I think it’s been exceptional what our group’s done,” the coach said.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel acknowledged that Dallas, already leading in the series, will get an instant emotional boost when Heiskanen returns.

“An elite, elite player obviously,” he said. “We can’t worry about somebody that’s not here. If all of a sudden we show up and he’s out there in warmups, then yeah, we certainly have to recognize it.”

With the possibility there that Heiskanen could return as early as Game 4, Arniel would be fine if the Stars continued to take a cautious approach with their star defenseman.

“Hopefully, he takes a little bit more time to make sure he’s getting back on it,” the Jets coach said with a grin.

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