ll likely deliver St George Illawarra another unexpected fin

LONDON -- Cities will bid to stage the finals of the Davis and Fed Cups as part of a revamp of the international team tennis competitions.The International Tennis Federation will launch a bidding process in December, although the governing body is yet to determine whether the same city will host the mens and womens competitions.Currently one of the finalists, based on the draw, decides the venue. Croatia is now looking for a suitable location for its men to host Argentina in the Davis Cup final in November.By having a full year or two to plan we can do more for sponsors and fans with a stadium thats an appropriate size, ITF President David Haggerty said the organizations London headquarters.Working on the ITF project are consultants from the CSM sports marketing company chaired by Sebastian Coe, president of track and fields governing body, the IAAF.The ITF will assess whether to select a host city from an emerging market which can potentially offer higher financial returns or one of the traditional tennis heartlands where the crowds could be larger and more boisterous.Its a balancing act, making sure we get bids from a number of different cities so we can make comparisons, Haggerty told The Associated Press. But its not all about money. Its about eyeballs and awareness. Our mission really is to develop, grow and promote tennis around the world. So we will take great caution.Haggerty envisages the winning bid staging the finals for two to three years. The challenge in potentially using the same venue for both competition finals at the same time is finding somewhere with enough arenas, practice courts and locker rooms.European soccers Champions League final and the Super Bowl, the showpiece of the NFL season, are being examined as major events that are held at neutral venues.The proposed Davis and Fed Cup changes must be approved by the ITFs annual general meeting in August. The ITF anticipates a decision on successful bidding cities next year.The ITF is also examining whether to condense the finals from three to two days and if best-of-three sets would work better for the Davis Cup rather than the current best-of-five. The Fed Cup world group could also double to 16 teams to match the mens competition. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Reggie White Jersey . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Ray-Nitschke-Packers-Jersey/ . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Jaire Alexander Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Jaire Alexander Youth Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. It is the luck of the NRL draw that will likely deliver St George Illawarra another unexpected finals appearance.Dragons coach Paul McGregor understandably bemoaned the joint ventures early season schedule, which included three successive matches in Queensland to face North Queensland, Brisbane and Gold Coast.However, the Dragons are not the only side to face the Cowboys and Brisbane back to back in their own backyard, and the ledger has agreeably evened out for the club since.They have faced both North Queensland and Melbourne without their State or Origin stars for two wins they arguably wouldnt have otherwise scored.They also play the Knights twice this season for a near-certain four points.The Dragons (8-7) currently sit ninth, climbing to eighth when Parramatta are likely hit with a points deduction for their salary-cap dramas, with 18 points and a bye to come.Over the final 10 rounds of the competition, they play only three current top-eight sides, and over the entire regular season they will endure four five-day turnarounds, well below the worst-hit side with seven.St George Illawarra probably have to win only four of their last nine games to make the final series.They have a five-day break between rounds 20 and 21, and 25 and 26.ddddddddddddBut they play the Knights in the final round, and Parramatta and Sydney Roosters in the rounds prior. Both sides whose finals hopes will likely be snuffed out by then.And McGregor has the chance to prime his side for a finals tilt with a nine-day break between rounds 22 and 23, and an eight-day break between rounds 23 and 24, and 24 and 25.But, as they say, you make your own luck, and after scoring more than 20 points just once over the first 14 rounds, the Dragons have beaten the Storm 20-10 and the Knights 30-18 to put themselves in a good position to emulate their unlikrl] ' ' '