of a kid ripping open his birthday presents. His chance to take th

As the 2016 World Cup winds down, we wondered: What should the next installment of the event look like? Should teams like North America and Europe be invited back? Or should the tournament be limited to teams representing one specific country??Should there again be a team of under-24 players??Our writers offered their thoughts and suggestions.The kids played hockey that well never forget, and the old goats from Europe reminded us what a team-first concept can produce. But the World Cup of Hockey, in my mind, needs to return in 2020 with a traditional format.Why? Because it isnt truly best-on-best unless countries have all their best players at their disposal. Team USA should have had access to Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, Brandon Saad and Auston Matthews. Hey, the Americans might have still lost, but at least they would have been able to pick from among all their best options. And Connor McDavid should have been on Team Canada (a scary thought, given how Canada has romped through this tournament).The point is, best-on-best was coined for the old Canada Cup tournaments because, unlike the Olympic hockey competitions of the time, the Canada Cup truly showcased the best NHLers from each country. So, I would suggest the top eight hockey countries return for 2020, with the last two spots to be determined in a European qualification tournament in the summer of 2019. And if the NHL doesnt participate in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea (plenty left to play out on that end either way), then its even more imperative for the NHL and the NHL Players Association to return with a traditional, country-only format so that theres a best-on-best event that truly crowns the best country in the world that year. -- Pierre LeBrunThis is a tough question for me, because my favorite part of this World Cup was watching Team North America play. The kids put in the two best games of the tournament, against Russia and Sweden, and yet I dont think they should be here again. For the World Cup to matter as much as it should, hockey needs to follow soccers example. Every four years, it should stage a best-on-best tournament, featuring the eight highest-seeded countries in the world.I like the size and duration of this tournament, except Id make the final a single game to improve the chances of an upset. Id have one city host the World Cup, but Id move the event around among the competing countries from year to year and give it a more genuinely international flavor. Reserve the Olympics for the kids -- 23 and under, again, just like soccer. Then we get to see the games brightest young stars every two years, and were only asking for more from its horses every four. Two different tournaments, with two different feels. And with the World Cup being the most inclusive and meaningful of them all. -- Chris JonesThe two best stories in this World Cup were Team North America capturing the heart of hockey fans everywhere and Team Europe making a Cinderella run. I see that my colleagues are trying to euthanize both of them. Theyre just as heartless as I always suspected.Im not interested in bringing Germany or Slovakia back into the mix, only to get steamrolled by Canada. I loved the stories of the players on Team Europe who beat major powers during international play for the first time in their lives. I say let it continue.My only changes would be to add a quarterfinal round so we dont see another scenario where the kids are sent home after going 2-1 and playing out of their minds. Id give Team USA and Canada an exemption or two to grab a player off the North American team they might need, and Id allow anybody who had previously played on North America to try out for their national team. If they make it, theyre on. If not, they can return and give us Young Guns 2. -- Craig CustanceIm a big believer in building the game of hockey at the grassroots level. The World Cup of Hockey concept had me intrigued from Day 1. While the creation of Team North America and Team Europe seemed like a gimmick at first, it actually was all about building the sport. It took Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger to make me realize that.If, by some chance, theres a child in one of those European countries who falls in love with this great game and develops into a solid human being because of hockey -- even if he or she doesnt become a pro player -- then this tournament was a success. You dont have to reach the NHL to be considered a success story. A life in hockey, in any fashion, at any level, helps the game and society. Theres a much bigger picture to the World Cup and Krueger is right.Now, I also agree with many hockey people that a best-on-best tournament should be country versus country. The best-case scenario would be to compete at the Olympic level, but if the NHL could figure out a way to make the World Cup an exciting and successful event, Im all for keeping it in the four-year loop. Yes, logistics are a challenge, as weve seen in 2016, but for the betterment of the game and the continued development of kids around the world, this event needs to continue. -- Joe McDonaldI must admit that I really wrestled with this whole proposition of whats next for the World Cup. The first edition of the tournament in 12 years?was, in some ways, a perfect storm, with the dynamic -- some would even say inspirational -- play of Team North America, and the plucky determination of Team Europe in reaching the finals against powerhouse Canada.Many folks, including some of my colleagues, want to do away with both teams. I think that would be a mistake. No international tournament has ever had the level of NHL participation that the 2016 World Cup of Hockey has. To willfully move away from that just to introduce teams that will play a less-inspiring brand of hockey -- and that is what a true, Olympic-style tournament will produce -- would be self-defeating.To cover both ends of the argument, lets expand the field to 12 -- a la the Olympics -- with two spots reserved for Team North America, part deux, and Team Europe, which would be composed of players from nations that did not qualify in a qualifying tournament. No pretournament games would be played, to keep the length of the event manageable.As for the location, thats even more difficult. The NHL has insisted that every ticket for every game in Toronto was sold. If you split a 12-team tournament between two cities, would fans bite? And can you find a place in North America or Europe to achieve this, so as to legitimately call it a World Cup? What about Toronto and Buffalo? Or Washington and Pittsburgh? Its a lot to ask, but especially if the Olympics become a nonfactor for the NHL moving forward, I cant imagine that cities in North America and abroad wouldnt be clamoring to have hockeys best visit for a couple of weeks in September. -- Scott Burnside Cheap Air Max 270 Womens .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Cheap Air Max 1 Mens . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. http://www.airmaxsneakersonsale.com/cheap-air-max-270.html . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Cheap Authentic Air Max 95 . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Lets hope that someday, when we think of Jose Fernandez, we can remember the smile, we can remember the charisma, we can remember the special joy he brought to every day he ever spent on a baseball field.But right now, its just too hard to get beyond the sadness. How do we even put that sadness into words as we try to process the incomprehensible news of the passing of one of baseballs shining stars, at the far-too-young age of 24?We will always have Fernandezs remarkable numbers to remind us of what he had already accomplished in a career that would last a mere 76 trips to a big league mound. But how do we measure what it is weve lost, what the Miami Marlins have lost, what the sport of baseball has lost?Where was this man heading in life? Where was he heading in baseball? Its like asking, How high is the sky? Because for Jose Fernandez, life had no limits. Every day, he looked at the world and thought, Why not? Ask anyone who ever spent five minutes around him. They would be the first to tell you there were four words in the dictionary he could never accept:That. Cant. Be. Done.So of course he made it out of Cuba, no matter how many attempts it took. Of course he jumped straight from the Florida State League to the big leagues at 20 years old. Of course he made it back from Tommy John surgery in just 13 months and looked as if hed never missed a start. Of course he would make 42 starts at home in his career and lose only two of them.This was the essence of Jose Fernandez. He approached every day thinking only of what he could do, what he would do. His world was filled only with possibilities. So on this day, the cloud above us is darkened by all those painful thoughts of what might have been. And its going to take a very long time to stop asking ourselves that question: What might he have been had he lived the rich, full life he deserved?He could have been Pedro Martinez. He was that talented. He was that unique. He was that irrepressible. He had that much natural pitching genius inside of him.Four years into his career, he had an ERA+ of 150 -- which is incredible. If youre not familiar with that stat, it compares each pitcher to the other pitchers of his time, and the average pitcher is graded at 100. So that tells you how much better Fernandez was than anyone around him.But maybe this will tell you more: Among right-handed pitchers whose careers began sincee World War II, do you know how many had a better ERA+ through 70 starts or more? That would be none.dddddddddddd. Zero. Behind Fernandez youll find the likes of Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver and Roger Clemens. Fernandez was off to a greater career start than all of them. Wow.But with this man, the what might have been scenarios shouldnt merely be confined to what he could have accomplished on a pitchers mound. This was a guy who was going to make a mark on the planet.People were drawn to him. People who spanned every spectrum of American life. His teammates. His coaches. The Latino community of South Florida. Kids. And when he pitched, when Jose Day arrived in Miami, there was nothing like it. Nothing.In the 2014 and 15 seasons, his starts in Miami drew an average of 26,938 ticket buyers. When anyone else pitched, the average attendance was 21,113. That difference computes to 27.6 percent more customers roaring through the turnstiles when Fernandez pitched than for any other game.?He would bounce around the field on those days with the joy of a kid ripping open his birthday presents. His chance to take that baseball and work his magic couldnt come soon enough. And that exuberance rubbed off on everyone who laid eyes on him.Hes unique, his first manager, Mike Redmond,?once told me. Hes not the kind of guy where you come in and hes sitting at his locker with his game face on and you cant talk to him. I mean, hes hitting in the cage, hes bunting in the cage, hes in my office, hes sitting on the couch, hes talking to me about a couple of hitters. Then hes out, and hes back in. Hes joking with the guys. Hes all over the place.So hes unique. I never played with a guy like that, man. And thats how he is every day. ... Just that day that he gets the ball, he cant wait. He just really loves to pitch.There is nothing sadder, in life or in sports, than unfulfilled potential. So to have the life of this man -- with this sort of talent, this much possibility, this sense of joy, this unending love of living every day -- be cut short so soon, it is even harder to comprehend than it is to accept.Maybe someday, well be able to focus again on that talent and that joy. But right now, this just feels like one of the saddest sports stories of our lifetimes. ' ' '