Power Five conference commissioners want to change NCAA rules to give college athletes more time away from team activities, including no longer counting travel as an off day, a mandatory seven-day break after the season and an additional 14 off days from athletic activity during the academic year. Hydro Flask Goedkoop .The agreement in concept was announced Thursday by the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference. The leagues said they believed they had found the right balance to help tens of thousands of athletes with a proposal they are calling Flex 21. The extra 21 days off would be in addition to the current mandatory off days, and could be tailored to fit each teams schedule with input from coaches and athletes.Formal proposals still need to be submitted, but the conferences could vote to turn them into NCAA rules at the next convention in January.College sports leaders have been looking into changes to ease the time demands on athletes for several years. At the last NCAA convention, the issue was delayed so more research could be done, including a survey of athletes from all sports. Conference officials seem eager to provide more benefits to athletes at a time when college sports is under legal and public pressure to make changes, including a push to pay athletes. Led by the College Athletes Players Association, members of the Northwestern football team made an attempt to unionize that ultimately failed.NCAA members schools and conferences have in recent years agreed to raise the value of athletic scholarships to cover the federally determined true cost of attendance that goes beyond tuition, books, room and board, and fees. They have also guaranteed four-year scholarships for many athletes and given athletes more say in making rules.We heard from our students that they would like more certainty in their schedules in order to engage in other activities, the commissioners said in a joint statement. We recognize there will need to be a level of flexibility and reasonableness in carrying out these changes, especially with regard to travel, but students deserve time off and we want athletic departments to work in a sensible and appropriate way to provide it. We want administrators to have some degree of flexibility in implementing these rules, but they must be mindful that rest is important to a students health, in addition to their athletic and academic performance.Currently, athletes are generally limited during the school year to 20 countable hours toward their sports per week, with one day off. Countable hours mostly cover practices, competition and conditioning, but does not count travel to and from events. The commissioners proposed expanding the definition of required athletic activities to include but not be limited to activities such as media requirements and mandatory community service.The proposal also includes a mandatory free-time block of eight hours overnight.The 14 extra off days will be on top of the current required two calendar days off per week outside the season. The additional 14 days can be used during the season if agreed to by coaches and athletes.We believe we have found the right balance between helping students participate in sports while also providing them with more down time, the commissioners said. Different sports have different demands and we think the concepts weve agreed to will help tens of thousands of students achieve more balance as they pursue their academic and athletic commitments.---Online:Joint statement from the conferences: http://www.theacc.com/news/commissioners...orts-07-07-2016 Swell Nederland . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Hydro Flask Nederland . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. http://www.swellbottlenederland.com/hydr...-nederland.html . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111.DETROIT -- Chris Davis sent a pitch to opposite field over the left-field fence and pulled another one deep into the right-field seats. His day gave him a major-league leading 26 homers and helped the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 13-3 Wednesday. Davis, who had a two-run homer in Baltimores six-run fourth inning, hit his second two-run shot in the ninth off embattled reliever Jose Valverde. "It split right into my barrel," Davis said. Baltimore improved to a season-high 11 games over .500 by winning its seventh series, including two against the AL Central-leading Tigers, in a month to prevent AL-leading Boston from building a big lead in the East. "Were doing a lot of things right," Davis said. Chris Tillman (8-2) gave up three runs and seven hits over five-plus innings. He became the third pitcher in franchise history to win his first six decisions on the road, joining Jeff Ballard (1989) and Hoyt Wilhelm (1959). Tillman gave up two singles and a walk in the first, but didnt give up a run because Austin Jackson was caught stealing second and Victor Martinez struck out to end the inning with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder on base. "Tilly wasnt carrying his usual stuff," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It was a credit to him to get through five-plus." Rick Porcello (4-4) allowed six runs on nine hits, giving up a pair of homers for the third time this year. Tigers manager Jim Leyland lamented that Porcello seemed to get rattled by Ryan Flahertys infield hit, which potentially couldve been an inning-ending groundout in the fourth, that led to Taylor Teagardens first homer of the season two pitches later. "Rick lost his composure a little bit after Flaherty hit that little nubber to third," Leyland said. "Groundball pitchers are going to give up hits like that, and they have to bounce back from them. He should have been able to do that, especially against that part of the order. Giving up a two-run homer to that guy, you can understand, but you have to get out of that inning." Valverde has given up six homers and 11 runs in 7 1-3 innings over his last seven outings since May 31 at Baltimore, whhere he blew a save and lost a game by giving up four runs in the ninth. Hydro Flask Fles. Leyland deflected a question about whether the team has to make a move with Valverde, saying that decision would be up to general manager Dave Dombrowski. "I dont think thats something we want to talk about today," he said. Detroits only source of encouragement in the series finale was Cabrera, who had two hits to become the first player to have at least 100 hits and 71 RBIs through his teams first 70 games since Bostons Ted Williams in 1948, according to STATS. Porcello started off pitching three scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, before the Orioles scored six runs on seven hits in the fourth inning. Davis hit the first pitch he saw with Nick Markakis on to make it 2-0. Teagarden followed with a three-run homer. Nate McLouths RBI double made it 6-0. Omar Infante hit an RBI double in the fourth and pinch-hitter Matt Tuiasosopo -- the first to face Baltimore reliever T.J. McFarland -- hit a two-run double in the sixth to pull Detroit within three runs. Baltimore restored its cushion the next inning, scoring three runs to take a 9-3 lead. Valverde entered the game in a low-pressure, non-save situation down by six runs and failed miserably. He gave up three hits -- including Adam Jones two-run double -- in five pitches and was booed by the fans who were still sticking around to see the end. Valverde kept his 10th pitch down, but Davis sent it deep into the right-field seats to lift the Orioles to their highest number of runs since a 14-8 win Aug. 10, 2010, against Cleveland. NOTES: After an off day Thursday in Toronto, the Orioles plan to start RHP Jason Hammel on Friday and RHP Miguel Gonzalez on Saturday against the Blue Jays. ... Detroit will open a four-game series at home against Boston on Thursday with LHP Jose Alvarez making his second career start against RHP John Lackey of the Red Sox. ... Baltimore has been slightly better on the road (22-16) than at home (20-15) this year. ... Detroit dropped its second straight game in Comerica Park after winning 10 of 13 at home. ... Davis had his second multihomer game of the season and the fifth of his career. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '