The College Ftball Playoff has abandoned a plan to play most of its semifinals on New Years Eves after television ratings tumbled last year, moving the dates of future games to ensure they will be played either on a weekend or a holiday.The changes will start with the 2018 season. The TV ratings for last years semifinal games played on Thursday, Dec. 31, dropped 36 percent from the semifinals played the season before on New Years Day.This seasons semifinals are still set for Saturday, Dec. 31. Next seasons playoff is scheduled to be back on Jan. 1. In 2018, the games initially scheduled to be played on New Years Eve, will now be played Saturday, Dec. 29.The 2019 games will move to Saturday, Dec. 28.The other seasons affected by the change are 2024, when the semifinals will be moved to Saturday, Dec. 28, and 2025, when the games will be played on Saturday, Dec. 27.We had a healthy discussion with a lot of people who love college ftball and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans, College Ftball Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said in a statement.In a phone interview with the AP, Hancock said after lking at data provided by ESPN that considered all the factors that contributed to the drop in ratings, such as the lopsided scores and participating teams, it was clear the single greatest factor was when the games were played.Hancock said several options for altering the schedule were discussed, including giving the College Ftball Playoff a permanent home on New Years Day, but that didnt get far.It was clear from the get go that our group wanted to honor the traditions of the game, including the Rose Bowl, including the Sugar Bowl getting back to New Years Day, which they really cherish, Hancock said. That one didnt stay on the table for long.Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, whose conference is partners with the Rose Bowl along with the Pac-12, said earlier this week the Rose Bowl would not be giving up its traditional New Years Day afternn time slot. The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference now have a similar partnership with the Sugar Bowl and have locked up the time slot after the Rose Bowl.Hancock said it was important to keep the semifinals in what he called the holiday period between Christmas and New Years Day because it best allows fans to travel to the games.ESPNs Burke Magnus, executive vice president, programming and scheduling, said the network, which is paying about $470 million annually for the media rights to College Ftball Playoff, was pleased with the decision.They did engage in a really thoughtful analysis of what could make the CFP more fan friendly and ultimately they got to the right place, which were happy about, Magnus said.Magnus said ESPN was not directly involved in the decision nor did it exert any pressure on the CFP to change its schedule. He said there was also no pressure from advertisers.No, it never went anywhere near that kind of conversation, Magnus said in a phone interview. There was never any ultimatums issued.The first College Ftball Playoff set ratings records for ESPN on New Years Day 2015. The semifinal between Oregon and Florida State was played at the Rose Bowl and Alabama and Ohio State played at Sugar Bowl, with the Rose kicking off at about 5:20 p.m. ET.The semifinals moved to New Years Eve last season for the first of eight initially scheduled times throughout the 12-year contract the CFP has with ESPN.College ftball officials said they were going to start a new tradition on New Years Eve and that people would incorporate watching big games into their party plans. The initial returns showed that was not happening. Not only did the games have to compete with parties at night, but much of the country was still working when the Orange Bowl between Clemson and Oklahoma kicked off around 40 ET. That was 30 local time in Oklahoma.We tried to do something special with New Years Eve, even when it fell on a weekday, Hancock said. But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed.---Online: tballplayoff.com/press-releases---Follow" target="_blank">http://www.collegeftballplayoff.com/pr...leases---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP Authentic Air Jordan Sale . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Authentic Air Jordan Outlet . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. http://www.cheapauthenticairjordan.com/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but gd things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Trps" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Cheap Nike Authentic Air Jordan . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Discount Authentic Air Jordan . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. EVANSTON, Ill. -- Vic Law scored a career-high 26 points -- his second straight game establishing a new mark -- to lead Northwestern to an 86-72 victory over Eastern Washington Monday night in a Legends Classic opening-round game.Law, who had 19 points in the season opener, was 7-for-13 from the field. Bryant McIntosh had 18 points and Scottie Lindsey and Dererk Pardon each added 12 as Northwestern improved to 2-0.Bogdan Bliznyuk led Eastern Washington (1-1) with 25 points on 10-for-18 shting. He had 20 points on 8-for-13 shting in the first half.Jacob Wiley added 19 points on 8-for-11 shting for the Eagles.Bliznyuk had four points and tk only three shots in the season-opening win over Division III Linfield.Northwestern quickly jumped out to a 15-point lead (24-9) less than nine minutes into the game and it appeared a second straight blow out was in order following the 94-63 opening win over Mississippi Valley State.But Eastern fought back and pulled within 42-36 in the final minute of the first half. The Eagles were within six points (553-47) early in the second half, but that was as close as they would get -- although Northwestern never was able to open a comfortable margin.ddddddddddddBIG PICTUREEWU: The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky in a preseason poll of media covering the conference following last season 18-16 finish. If nothing else, this is a scrappy bunch that played physical on both ends and refused to quit after falling behind early on the road against a Power 5 conference team.Northwestern: Although the season is only two games old, Law cleared as emerged as the Wildcats best player. The redshirt sophomore, who missed all of last season following shoulder surgery, has the versatile game and athleticism to be a threat every night.UP NEXTEastern Washington plays at Texas on Thursday in a game thats also a part of the Legends Classic.Following a pair of home wins, Northwestern plays its first road game Thursday at Butler. ' ' '