d The 16th-ranked Spaniard is now 2-2 in career finals.In the wom

NEW YORK -- When Troy Vincent mentioned in April the NFLs interest in establishing a developmental league, he couldnt have imagined the response it would get. "I got more than 100 proposals," he said with a laugh. "I think that shows it is worth a look." And that is what it will get, although the NFL has no timetable for establishing such a league. Why is it likely to get off the ground? Vincent, who recently became the NFLs head of football operations, cites a bunch of reasons, from training coaches and officials to finding players to testing rules. "It would be an opportunity to enhance our game on many levels, to develop the future, preserve and innovate the game," he said. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would like to see it happen. "Im in favour of anything that increases opportunities for guys to grow and develop," Tomlin said, "and ultimately improve the product of our game for our fans, particularly at some positions." Notably, quarterback. Tomlin is well aware of how former Super Bowl QBs Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme were helped by their time in the minors. "Quarterbacks often dont come to you ready-made, particularly with the way college football is played now with so many spread offences and half-field reads and so forth," Tomlin said. Tomlin is right that the NFL relies on the college game for developing the skills of potential pro players. That wont change but, as the number of undrafted free agents who populate NFL rosters shows -- 31.4 per cent in 2014 -- there are hundreds of players who would benefit from having a place to showcase themselves if the NFL doesnt come calling. Not since NFL Europe disappeared in 2007 has there been an NFL-affiliated place where players could go to prove themselves worthy of a look by one of the leagues 32 teams. Same thing for officials and coaches. "Thats what NFL Europe was intended to be, a developmental league," said Falcons defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan, a former head coach in the NFL. "I thought it was great for coaches, I thought it was great for players, I thought it was great for officials. It wasnt my money they were spending on it, but I always thought the time was worth it. " There are dozens of questions accompanying any project: When and where would the league play games? How many teams would be in a developmental league? Who would play and coach? Would television be interested? Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm, has a strong relationship with many team owners. He envisions a league being established for spring play, with all of the teams supplying players they want to see more from. "After the NFL season and before the training camps, say March to July," Ganis said. "Its an open time in the sports schedule. The colleges are done and the NBA and NHL playoffs wind down. "A league in the fall is really tough. It is not like baseball, where teams can be calling up players every day from the minors. There would be lots of restrictions on player movement then." This wont be an international venture, either. In fact, it probably would be done regionally, cutting down on travel costs. "I do envision some sort of developmental league, based maybe in Florida or Texas or Arizona," said former NFL general manager Phil Savage, who now is the executive director of the Senior Bowl. "Anywhere from four to six teams; I dont think more than eight. "I see it as tightly managed, with not a ton of travel. And I dont think it would matter the size of the stadiums and crowds, because its a minor league, a place to look at players from the lower end of the roster or players trying to make it into the NFL." Ganis says not to worry about TV interest. "The networks have open time in the spring, and its an NFL product. There would be room on the networks for games on the weekend, and on the cable outlets for weeknights," he said. "Theres really a dearth of major sports on the weekends then. "I think you would see all the networks with cable channels -- CBS, Fox, NBC, and of course NFL Network -- to be interested. And ESPN would likely want in on the mix, although they need it the least." Savage was most intrigued by Vincents suggestion that an academy for training players, coaches and officials could accompany a D-league. But he foresees such an academy being held during the NFL season. "It would be in one centralized location and these players go there and they keep their football life afloat for another few months or another season," Savage said. "And maybe they show enough to play in the developmental league the next spring. Or maybe they get discovered for the NFL." One major caveat would be the status of the players. Would they be NFL Players Association members? What sort of medical coverage would they have? What would their salaries be? Savage believes the league, the union and the American Football Coaches Association -- the organization for college coaches -- could work out a strategy that would lead to a developmental league by the end of the decade, perhaps much sooner. "I think it could be a really neat thing and can help a lot of players," he said. Rams coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the NFLs influential competition committee, agrees. "Theres been discussions over the last couple years. I dont know what direction its going, but I think we have a need for it," Fisher said. "I think it would be beneficial from a young players standpoint. ... if you have to make an outside roster move to get somebody thats in shape that you can evaluate on film." Vincent, naturally, is in a position to help bring a league, and an academy, into existence. "If it is something sustainable and it is good for the sport, and we can make it work," Vincent said, "its worth pursuing." Cheap Custom Jerseys China . Ontario Superior Court Case Management Master Ronald Dash released the decision on Monday, saying John McCaw Jr. must testify in front of a jury by live video conference. Moores lawyer, Tim Danson, asked the court to compel McCaw - who is based in Seattle - to testify in the case back on February 27. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys .com) - Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo were named the NHLs players of the week on Monday. http://www.jerseyscustom.us/ . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. China Custom Jerseys Store . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18.MOSCOW - U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic won the Kremlin Cup on Sunday, beating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 in the final.The big-serving Croat, seeded second, broke his Spanish opponent once in each set at Moscows Olimpiisky arena to take his 13th career title and fourth of the season.Earlier Sunday, sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia defeated Romanias Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to win the womens event.The eighth-ranked Cilic said his serve, usually his main weapon, was not at its best.I wasnt able to hit big bombs. I was today playing more in combinations and I was playing a bit better from the baseline, he said. It was many difficult physical rallies.Cilic secured qualification Friday for next months ATP Finals in London and said he was in good form to face the rest of the worlds top eight.Im going to be motivated to do well, he said. Ive been winning a lot of matches in indoors which is for sure one of my favourite surfaces to play.Cilic becomes the first Croatian man to win the Moscow ATP 250 tournament since his coach Goran Ivanisevic beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1996.In Bautista Agut, Cilic faced a close friend but one he had not played competitivelly since an under-14 tournament 12 years ago.dddddddddddd The 16th-ranked Spaniard is now 2-2 in career finals.In the womens final, Pavlyuchenkova seized her chance when Begu tired after two evenly-matched sets.Playing in her home city, Pavlyuchenkova skipped across the court with joy after converting her second match point to become the first Russian woman to win the Kremlin Cup since Elena Dementieva in 2007.Its just the best possible way to end the season, Pavlyuchenkova said. It was a really tough match. I just couldnt have lost at home.The Russian is now 7-3 in career WTA finals. The Kremlin Cup is her seasons second title after the Open GDF Suez in Paris.Pavlyuchenkova dropped just one set in the five matches she played on the way to the title, none of them against a seeded opponent.World No. 61 Begu is 1-3 in finals. This was her first final since 2012.Absent from the trophy presentation was Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev, who was banned for a year by the WTA on Friday over derogatory comments about the Williams sisters.Tarpischev did, however, attend the presentation for the mens final, which was under the auspices of the ATP. ' ' '