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any team with Thornton, Couture and Chris Tier- ney also at center. That will provide a boost against other top teams and help avoid the mismatches that hurt San Jose against the deeper Penguins in the fi- nal. Defensivedepth The Sharks have top de- fensive pairs in the defen- sive-minded Vlasic and Justin Braun and the more offensively inclined Burns and Paul Martin. It was the third defensive pair of Brenden Dillon and Roman Polak that was exposed at times in the postseason, especially in the final. The signing of David Schlemko to replace Polak gives the Sharks a better puck mover on that pairing and could help Dillon boost his pro- duction. "He fits where the game is at and where it's going," general manager Doug Wilson said. "The ability to get the puck up the ice, get it up to the hands of our forwards is important and we feel like Schlemko certainly helps in that area." Familiarity The Sharks took a few months to find their stride in DeBoer's first year as coach and were near the bottom of the Western Conference in January. But they were one of the top teams after that and hope that can carry over for a faster start this sea- son because of their famil- iarity with the system. "You can just go out there and kind of react as opposed to last year you're learning and learning new bodies into systems, a new foundation," forward Joel Ward said. "So hopefully the foundation is there from last year." Youth be served The Sharks are hop- ing for a spark from a few young players fight- ing to crack the lineup at forward. Barclay Good- row, Nikolay Goldobin and Kevin Labanc are among the players who could get a look early. Timo Meier, a first-round pick in 2015, was expected to make the biggest impact but will miss the start of the season after getting mononucleo- sis during training camp. Backup goalie While Martin Jones proved he could carry the load in his first sea- son as an NHL starter, the Sharks would like to find a capable backup to ease Jones' workload. He thrived late in the sea- son after James Reimer was acquired at the trade deadline. Aaron Dell, who spent last year in the AHL, will get the first shot as Jones' backup this season. Sharks FROMPAGE1 nator Curtis Modkins said. "Torrey is going to get his looks. That's going to hap- pen. We're confident in that. Torrey is confident in that. What the defense tells us is kind of where the ball goes and he's going to get his fair share as the sea- son goes on. I'm confident in that." Smith's biggest strength as a receiver is his ability to get deep and that has not meshed well with Gabbert's abilities. Gabbert has com- pleted just one of 10 pass attempts at least 20 yards down field — a 28-yard TD catch by Smith against Car- olina — and his 33.3 rating on those attempts is the second worst in the league, according to SportRadar. The Niners had their best success a year ago throwing to Smith, gener- ating a 116.9 passer rating on those throws in 2015, ac- cording to Pro Football Fo- cus. That has not been the case this year when that rating has dropped to 37.7 Smith was targeted 16 times the first two games — catching just five of those passes — but has been rather invisible the past two games with just six targets and four catches for 38 yards. "A lot of it just depends on how people play us and what they're doing," coach Chip Kelly said. "We've gotten a lot of man cover- age out there. Sometimes people are leaning safeties toward his side. So, we're taking advantage of what's going on." • DL DeForest Buckner (left foot) and CB Jimmie Ward (quadriceps) did not take part in practice. • Kerley was upgraded to limited with an ankle injury. 49ers FROM PAGE 1 Mets posted the top mark in the majors (27-13) from that point on and jumped over four teams in the pen- nant race, booking their postseason trip Saturday with one game to spare. Both teams finished 87- 75, and New York earned home-field advantage by winning the season series 4-3. "Good major league players, when it comes crunch time, they turn it on," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "So I'm not really sure that momen- tum going in means a whole lot. Both of us have had to play good at the end we did." Citi Field should be rock- ing Wednesday night, but Bumgarner, Bochy and the Giants know all about excelling in elimination games and thriving under postseason pressure. Af- ter winning World Series titles in 2010, '12 and '14, they want to extend their pattern of even-year cham- pionships with another run through October. The last time Bumgar- ner pitched in the postsea- son, he saved Game 7 of the 2014 World Series in Kan- sas City with five scoreless innings on two days' rest to cap one of the greatest postseason performances in baseball history. His 0.25 ERA in five career out- ings is the lowest for any pitcher with at least 25 in- nings in the Fall Classic. He was 15-9 with a 2.74 ERA and 251 strikeouts this season. "With us finishing up the way we did, I feel re- ally, really good about our chances," Bumgarner said. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound lefty, born in Hickory, North Carolina, started San Francisco's playoff surge in the 2014 wild-card game by striking out 10 in a four-hit shutout at Pitts- burgh a similar assign- ment to Wednesday. "We have been through this before. We've been down this road. I like this wild-card thing," Bochy said. "I love it. I have to. We have a ring because of this wild card and have a chance now." The 24-year-old Syn- dergaard, with long blond locks and the nickname Thor, is no inexperienced sophomore. The 6-foot-6, 242-pound righty from Mansfield, Texas, joined Bumgar- ner on the All-Star ros- ter this summer and went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA and 218 strikeouts over 183 2/3 innings. Featuring a 100 mph fastball, sharp slider and impressive control of several secondary pitches, he won a pair of postsea- son starts as a rookie last year including Game 3 of the World Series against the Royals. In that one, Syndergaard caught everyone's attention with his first pitch: a siz- zling fastball well above Al- cides Escobar's head that dusted a hot hitter who liked to swing at the ini- tial offering. "He's not intimidated by anything," Collins said about Syndergaard. "He's not afraid. He wants to take charge. His stuff speaks for itself. I think he's grown as a pitcher. I think he trusts his stuff a lot more now." Syndergaard, for his part, is eagerly anticipat- ing Wednesday night. "It's just a dream come true," he said. "It's going to be really exciting and I'm looking forward to getting out there and feeling the energy from the hometown crowd, just having an awe- some time." Giants FROM PAGE 1 TONYAVELAR—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The Giants didn't have much time to celebrate clinching a National League wild-card spot a er their 7-1win over the Dodgers on Sunday. MLBBASEBALL National League Wild Card, San Francisco Gi- ants at New York Mets: 5p.m., ESPN. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Georgia Southern at Arkansas State: 5p.m., ESPN2. GOLF EPGA Tour, Fiji International Round 1: 6:30 p.m., GOLF. APGC Tour, Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion- ship Round 1: 10p.m., ESPN2. LPGA Tour, Taiwan Championship Round 1: 10p.m., GOLF. EPGA Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Round 1: 5a.m., GOLF. HOCKEY NHL Preseason: 4p.m., NHL. NHL Preseason: 6:30p.m., NHL. TENNIS Japan Open or China Open Men's or Women's: 7p.m., TENNIS. Japan Open or China Open Men's or Women's: 3a.m., TENNIS. On the air Scoreboard Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Denver 4 0 01.000 111 64 Oakland 3 1 0 .750 108 106 Kansas City 2 2 0 .500 83 92 San Diego 1 3 0 .250 121 108 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA New England 3 1 0 .750 81 61 Buffalo 2 2 0 .500 87 68 N.Y. Jets 1 3 0 .250 79 105 Miami 1 3 0 .250 71 89 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Houston 3 1 0 .750 69 73 Jacksonville 1 3 0 .250 84 111 Indianapolis 1 3 0 .250 108 125 Tennessee 1 3 0 .250 62 84 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Pittsburgh 3 1 0 .750 108 80 Baltimore 3 1 0 .750 84 72 Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 78 82 Cleveland 0 4 0 .000 74 115 NATIONAL CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Los Angeles 3 1 0 .750 63 76 Seattle 3 1 0 .750 79 54 San Francisco1 3 0 .250 90 107 Arizona 1 3 0 .250 92 80 EAST DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Philadelphia 3 0 01.000 92 27 Dallas 3 1 0 .750 101 77 Washington 2 2 0 .500 99 112 N.Y. Giants 2 2 0 .500 73 85 SOUTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Atlanta 3 1 0 .750 152 124 Tampa Bay 1 3 0 .250 77 128 Carolina 1 3 0 .250 109 118 Ne w O rl ea ns 1 3 0 . 250 1 14 1 30 NORTH DIVISION W L T Pct PF PA Minnesota 4 0 01.000 88 50 Green Bay 2 1 0 .667 75 67 Chicago 1 3 0 .250 62 97 Detroit 1 3 0 .250 95 102 Thursday's games Cincinnati 22, Miami 7 Sunday's games Jacksonville 30, Indianapolis 27 Buffalo 16, New England 0 Chicago 17, Detroit 14 Seattle 27, N.Y. Jets 17 Washington 31, Cleveland 20 Houston 27, Tennessee 20 Atlanta 48, Carolina 33 Oakland 28, Baltimore 27 Dallas 24, San Francisco 17 Los Angeles 17, Arizona 13 New Orleans 35, San Diego 34 Denver 27, Tampa Bay 7 Pittsburgh 43, Kansas City 14 Monday's games Minnesota 24, N.Y. Giants 10 Thursday, Oct. 6 Arizona at San Francisco, 5:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. New England at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Miami, 10 a.m. Houston at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Washington at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Chicago at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Denver, 1:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Dallas, 1:25 p.m. San Diego at Oakland, 1:25 p.m. Buffalo at Los Angeles, 1:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Green Bay, 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10 Tampa Bay at Carolina, 5:30 p.m NFL LEADERS QUARTERBACKS Att Com Yds TD Int M. Ryan, ATL 140 101 1473 11 2 Brees, NOR 176 116 1269 10 3 Dalton, CIN 146 97 1234 3 2 Stafford, DET 156 104 1198 7 4 Manning, NYG 152 101 1186 4 4 Cousins, WAS 151 100 1172 6 4 Palmer, ARI 153 90 1150 6 5 Luck, IND 166 103 1147 8 3 Rberger, PIT 145 92 1116 11 4 Rivers, SD 142 96 1110 7 1 RUSHERS Att Yds Avg Long TD E. Elliott, DAL 94 412 4.4 26 3 Crowell, CLE 60 386 6.4 85t 3 Blount, NE 88 352 4.0 41t 4 L. Miller, HOU 93 351 3.8 15 0 D. Murray, TEN 66 340 5.2 67 3 D. Freeman, ATL 55 322 5.9 48 1 D. Johnson, ARI 64 300 4.7 45 3 C. Hyde, SNF 73 299 4.1 34 5 L. McCoy, BUF 67 297 4.4 24t 3 Michael, SEA 63 290 4.6 41t 2 RECEIVERS No Yds Avg Long TD A. Green, CIN 32 468 14.6 54t 2 Landry, MIA 31 375 12.1 42t 1 Anto. Brown, PIT 28 369 13.2 38t 4 Mi. Evans, TAM 26 360 13.8 45t 3 Crabtree, OAK 26 308 11.8 31 4 S. Diggs, MIN 25 372 14.9 46 1 Hilton, IND 25 336 13.4 63t 2 Sanders, DEN 25 293 11.7 41t 3 Fitzgerald, ARI 25 280 11.2 25 3 Jo. Reed, WAS 25 263 10.5 26 2 College football TOP 25 SCHEDULE Friday No. 3 Clemson at Boston College, 4:30 p.m. No. 19 Boise State at New Mexico, 6 p.m. Saturday No. 1 Alabama at No. 16 Arkansas, 4 p.m. No. 2 Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12:30 p.m. No. 4 Michigan at Rutgers, 4 p.m. No. 5 Washington at Oregon, 4:30 p.m. No. 6 Houston at Navy, noon No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Tennessee, 12:30 p.m. No. 10 Miami vs. No. 23 Florida State, 5 p.m. No. 15 Stanford vs. Washington State, 7:30 p.m. No. 17 North Carolina vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech, 12:30 p.m. No. 18 Florida vs. LSU, 9 a.m. No. 20 Oklahoma vs. Texas at Dallas, 9 a.m. No. 21 Colorado at USC, 1 p.m. No. 24 Utah vs. Arizona, 7 p.m. MLB POSTSEASON Wild card Tuesday, Oct. 4: Tuesday, Oct. 4: Toronto 5, Baltimore 2, 11 innings Wednesday, Oct. 5: San Francisco (Bumgarner 15-9) at New York (Synder- gaard 14-9), 5:09 p.m. (ESPN) Division series (Best-of-5; x-if necessary) AMERICAN LEAGUE TEXAS VS. TORONTO Thursday, Oct. 6: Toronto at Texas, 1:38 p.m. (TBS) Friday, Oct. 7: Toronto at Texas, 10:08 a.m. (TBS) Sunday, Oct. 9: Texas at Toronto, 4:38 p.m. (TBS) x-Monday, Oct. 10: Texas at Toronto, TBA (TBS) x-Wednesday, Oct. 12: Toronto at Texas, TBA (TBS) CLEVELAND VS. BOSTON Thursday, Oct. 6: Boston (Porcello 22-4) at Cleveland (Bauer 12-8), 5:08 p.m. (TBS) Friday, Oct. 7: Boston (Price 17-9) at Cleveland (Kluber 18-9), 1:38 p.m. (TBS) Sunday, Oct. 9: Cleveland (Tomlin 13-9) at Boston, 1:08 p.m. (TBS) x-Monday, Oct. 10: Cleveland at Boston, TBA (TBS) x-Wednesday, Oct. 12: Boston at Cleve- land, TBA (TBS) NATIONAL LEAGUE CHICAGO VS. SAN FRANCISCO-NEW YORK WINNER Friday, Oct. 7: San Francisco-New York winner at Chicago, 6:15 p.m. (FS1) Saturday, Oct. 8: San Francisco-New York winner at Chicago, 5:08 p.m. (MLB) Monday, Oct. 10: Chicago at San Francisco-New York winner, TBA (FS1 or MLB) x-Tuesday, Oct. 11: Chicago at San Francisco-New York winner, TBA (FS1) x-Thursday, Oct. 13: San Francisco-New York winner at Chicago, TBA (FS1) WASHINGTON VS. LOS ANGELES Friday, Oct. 7: Los Angeles (Kershaw 12-4) at Washington (Scherzer 20-7), 2:38 p.m. (FS1) Saturday, Oct. 8: Los Angeles (Hill 12-5) at Washington, 1:08 p.m. (FS1) Monday, Oct. 10: Washington at Los An- geles (Maeda 16-10), TBA (FS1 or MLB) x-Tuesday, Oct. 11: Washington at Los Angeles, TBA (FS1) x-Thursday, Oct. 13: Los Angeles at Washington, TBA (FS1) WNBA PLAYOFFS – THIRD ROUND (Best-of-5) (x-if necessary) MINNESOTA 3, PHOENIX 0 Wednesday, Sept. 28: Minnesota 113, Phoenix 95 Friday, Sept. 30: Minnesota 96, Phoenix 86 Sunday, Oct. 2: Minnesota 82, Phoenix 67 LOS ANGELES 2, CHICAGO 1 Wednesday, Sept. 28: Los Angeles 95, Chicago 75 Friday, Sept. 30: Los Angeles 99, Chicago 84 Sunday, Oct. 2: Chicago 70, Los Angeles 66 Tuesday, Oct. 4: Los Angeles at Chicago, (n.) x-Thursday, Oct. 6: Chicago at Los Angeles, TBA Soccer MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA FC Dallas 16 8 8 56 48 39 Colorado 13 5 12 51 33 27 Los Angeles 11 6 15 48 53 39 Salt Lake 12 11 9 45 43 44 Seattle 13 13 5 44 41 40 Kansas City 12 13 7 43 40 41 Portland 11 13 8 41 46 49 San Jose 8 10 13 37 31 36 Vancouver 9 15 8 35 41 51 Houston 7 12 11 32 36 40 EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA New York 14 9 9 51 56 42 N.Y. City FC 14 9 9 51 57 53 Toronto FC 13 9 10 49 46 35 Montreal 11 10 11 44 47 48 D.C. United 10 9 13 43 48 42 Philadelphia 11 12 9 42 52 51 New England10 13 9 39 40 52 Columbus 8 12 11 35 45 49 Orlando City 7 11 14 35 49 58 Chicago 6 16 9 27 36 52 Note: Three points for victory, one point for tie. Sunday's games Montreal 1, Orlando City 0 Seattle 2, Vancouver 1 Saturday, October 8 Colorado at Houston, 5:30 p.m. NHL PRESEASON Monday's games Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Rangers 3, OT Washington 2, St. Louis 1, SO N.Y. Islanders 4, New Jersey 3 Winnipeg 4, Ottawa 2 Arizona 4, Vancouver 2 Tuesday's games Buffalo 2, Carolina 0 N.Y. Islanders 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, OT Montreal 4, Boston 3 Columbus 3, Nashville 2, OT Dallas 2, Florida 1, SO Chicago 6, Detroit 1 Colorado 2, Minnesota 0 Edmonton 2, Anaheim 1 Toronto vs. Ottawa at Saskatoon, Sas- katchewan, (n.) Wednesday's games N.Y. Islanders at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Buffalo vs. Carolina at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 4 p.m. Washington vs. St. Louis at Kansas City, Mo., 5 p.m. Colorado at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Arizona at Calgary, 6 p.m. Anaheim at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. NBA PRESEASON Tuesday's games Miami 106, Washington 95 Philadelphia 92, Boston 89 Houston 130, New York 103 Indiana 113, New Orleans 96 Sacramento at Lakers, (n.) Clippers at Golden State, (n.) Wednesday's games Oklahoma City at FC Barcelona, 11:30 a.m. Orlando at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Utah at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Toronto at Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Thursday's games Chicago at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Boston at Charlotte, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Atlanta at Memphis, 5 p.m. Sacramento at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Tennis ATP-WTA CHINA OPEN RESULTS Tuesday Olympic Park at the China National Tennis Center Beijing Purse: $4.16 million (ATP-500); $5.4 mil- lion (WTA-Premier) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles MEN First Round Jack Sock , United States, def. Zhang Ze, China, 6-3, 7-5. Alexander Zverev, Germany, def. Domi- nic Thiem (4), Austria, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia, def. Konstan- tin Kravchuk, Russia, 6-1, 6-4. Fabio Fognini, Italy, def. Viktor Troicki, Serbia, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, 6-1, 6-1. Andy Murray (1), Britain def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 6-2, 7-5. Milos Raonic (3), Canada, def. Florian Mayer, Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (1). WOMEN Second Round Petra Kvitova (14), Czech Republic, def. Wang Yafan, China, 6-4, 6-1. Simona Halep (4), Romania, def. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, 6-2, 6-2. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, def. Roberta Vinci (13), Italy, 6-3, 6-2. Alize Cornet, France, def. Dominika Cibulkova (10), Slovakia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (9), Russia, def. Misaki Doi, Japan, 6-1, 7-5. Zhang Shuai, China, def. Alison Riske, United States, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4). ATP RAKUTAN JAPAN OPEN RESULTS Tuesday At Ariake Colosseum Tokyo Purse: $1.5 million (ATP-500) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles First Round Da vi d G of fi n ( 5) , B elgi u m, d ef . Y osh ih ito Nishioka, Japan, 7-5, 6-2. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, def. Stephane Robert, France, 6-2, 6-1. Jiri Vesely, Czech Republic, def. Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4. James Duckworth, Australia, def. Feliciano Lopez (8), Spain, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 4-2 retired. Juan Monaco, Argentina, def. Taylor Fritz, United States, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Nick Kyrgios (6), Australia, def. Ryan Harrison, United States, 7-5, 6-2. Gilles Simon, France, def. Phillip Kohlschreiber, Germany, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0. Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Ivo Karlovic (7), Croatia, def. Federico Delbonis, Argentina, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5). Gael Monfils (2), France, def. Yuichi Sugita, Japan, 6-3, 6-1. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, def. Taro Daniel, Japan, 6-2, 6-4. Odds PREGAME.COM LINE Wednesday MLB NATIONAL LEAGUE Favorite Line Underdog at New York -105/-105 San Francisco College Football Wednesday Favorite Today (O/U) Underdog Ga. Southern 71/2 (541/2)at Arkansas St Thursday at Memphis 10 (601/2) Temple W Kentucky 21/2 (67) at Louisiana Tech Friday at UCF 131/2 (481/2) Tulane Clemson 17 (43) at Boston College at Tulsa 17 (64) SMU Boise St 17 (61) at New Mexico NFL Thursday Favorite Today (O/U) Underdog Arizona 4 (43) at San Francisco Sunday at Minnesota 6 (40) Houston at Miami 31/2 (43) Tennessee New England 10 (461/2) at Cleveland at Pittsburgh 7 (48) NY Jets at Baltimore 31/2 (441/2) Washington Philadelphia 3 (46) at Detroit at Indianapolis 41/2 (48) Chicago at Denver 6 (48) Atlanta at Los Angeles 21/2 (391/2) Buffalo at Oakland 31/2 (50) San Diego at Dallas PK (45) Cincinnati at Green Bay 71/2 (471/2) NY Giants Monday at Carolina OFF (OFF) Tampa Bay Transactions BASEBALL American Association Lincoln Saltdogs: Exercised the 2017 contract option on INF Trever Adams. Can-Am League Sussex County Miners: Exercised the 2017 contract option on OF Mike Schwartz. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association Chicago Bulls: Waived F Vince Hunter. Women's National Basketball Association Wnba: Announced the retirement of chief of basketball operations and player relations Renee Brown. FOOTBALL National Football League Arizona Cardinals: Signed QB Zac Dysert and WR Brittan Golden from the practice squad. Re-signed RB Kerwynn Williams. Placed S Tyvon Branch and RB Chris Johnson on injured reserve. Waive- injured P Drew Butler. Baltimore Ravens: Released RB Justin Forsett. Buffalo Bills: Signed TE Gerald Christian. Released TE Jim Dray. Signed WR Corey Washington to the practice squad. Re- leased WR Matt Hazel from the practice squad. Chicago Bears: Signed DL Cj Wilson. Waived RB Raheem Mostert. Cleveland Browns: Signed TE Connor Hamlett from the practice squad. Waived DB Don Jones. Detroit Lions: Signed TE Clay Harbor. Released TE Orson Charles. Claimed DE Armonty Bryant off waivers from Cleveland. Placed DE Wallace Gilberry on injured reserve. Indianapolis Colts: Released CB Antonio Cromartie. Waived LB Sio Moore. Signed S Lee Hightower to the practice squad. Oakland Raiders: Signed LB Perry Riley Jr.. Placed LB Ben Heeney on injured reserve. Signed LB James Cowser to the practice squad. Released DL Demetrius Cherry and LB Darnell Sankey from the practice squad. HOCKEY National Hockey League Arizona Coyotes: Signed F Tobias Rieder to a two-year contract. Calgary Flames: Assigned D Kenney Morrison to Stockton (AHL). Chicago Blackhawks: Assigned Fs Spencer Abbott, Sam Carrick and Pierre- Cedric Labrie and D Viktor Svedberg and Cameron Schilling to Rockford (AHL). New Jersey Devils: Assigned D Brandon Gormley, Vojtech Mozik and Karl Stollery and Fs Blake Coleman, Rod Pelley and Blake Pietila to Albany (AHL). New York Rangers: Assigned Fs Chris Brown, Steven Fogarty, Ryan Gropp, Philip McRae and Adam Tambellini, and D Calle Andersson, Tommy Hughes and Michael Paliotta to Hartford (AHL). American Hockey League Albany Devils: Signed F Brian Gibbons to a one-year contract. TENNIS Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas: Reduced Maria Sharapova's two- year doping ban to 15 months, enabling her to return to competition in April, 2017. COLLEGE Big East Conference: Named Katie Wil- lett associate commissioner for compli- ance and governance. United Collegiate Hockey Conference: Announced the formation a men's and women's ice hockey league for NCAA Division III institutions that will begin play in the 2017-18 season. Ten men's and women's teams from Chatham, El- mira College, Hobart and William Smith, King's College (Pa.), Lebanon Valley, Manhattanville, Neumann, Stevenson and Utica College (NY). The conference also includes Nazareth men's team and the Wilkes (Pa.) men's and women's teams will join in 2018-19. Wilkes will play an abbreviated conference sched- ule in 2017-18. Named Chuck Mitrano commissioner and Patricia Thompson vice president and chair of the director of athletics committee. | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2016 2 B