NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday said that he anticipates the league's 3-on-3 OT format being tested in the preseason "to be a permanent fixture." Bettman, speaking at the league's BOG meeting in N.Y., said, "If it works the way we anticipate it will, I don't believe it's an experiment." TSN.ca's Frank Seravalli noted Bettman relayed Senior Exec VP/Hockey Operations Colin Campbell's notes about the new format, including that of the 44 preseason games "sent to overtime with a tied score, 33 games [75%] produced a goal via 3-on-3 play." Bettman said the average was "pretty much what we expected." But Seravalli noted "more interesting was the average time it took to produce a goal: 2:49" (TSN.ca, 9/30).
THAT'S A WRAP: In S.F., Ron Kroichick notes the PGA Tour "scheduled exactly 17 days" between the final round of the '14-15 season-ending Tour Championship and the first round of the '15-16 season-opening Frys.com Open, which is "not even taking into account next week’s Presidents Cup in South Korea." This "doesn’t make over-scheduling a smart move." The Frys "launches a six-week stretch of fall tournaments, right through the Sunday before Thanksgiving, most lacking big-name players, all relegated to sporting obscurity in the thick of football season." Kroichick: "What golf really needs is a break. Take three months off. Let fans digest one season and allow anticipation to build for the next" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/1).
CLEARING THINGS UP: NASL N.Y. Cosmos COO Erik Stover on Tuesday in a series of Tweets apologized to N.Y. Times reporter Andrew Das for his "poor choice of words" claiming MLS planted a story in the newspaper regarding the relationship between the league and the U.S. Soccer Federation. Stover wrote, "It was not my intention or inclination to challenge the integrity of the Times. In an effort to be open and transparent with our fans, I expressed a personal opinion in response to a question. I was careless in making my point and I honestly feel that the NYT article I referenced was fair and balanced (TWITTER.com, 9/29).
LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE: The NBA yesterday announced modifications to its instant-replay process. This season, in addition to three referees working each game, NBA officials will be staffed in the league's Replay Center, making decisions on certain replay situations and facilitating the on-court review of others. All replays will continue to be triggered by on-court referees (NBA).
