BOCA RATON, Fla. Brian McCann Jersey . - The NHL is dipping its toes into the waters of possible expansion to Las Vegas without committing to diving in.On Monday the board of governors did not object to potential owner Bill Foley holding a season-ticket drive to determine the level of interest in NHL hockey in the Nevada city. Commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned, please dont make more out of this than it is.Still, its another tiny step toward realizing the long-talked-about idea of expansion and one that seemingly puts Las Vegas well ahead of Quebec City and Seattle in the as-yet invisible race for team No. 31.The sole purpose here would be to give, in this unique circumstance, Mr. Foley and his colleagues an opportunity to measure the level of interest in the market by conducting a season-ticket drive, Bettman said. All its doing is letting him measure for his interest and ours whether or not the market will support a team, at least from that measure alone.The NHL last expanded from 28 to 30 teams in 2000 by adding the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.A season-ticket drive in Las Vegas, however non-binding, is further evidence that the NHL is at the very least intrigued by the unique market that has never hosted a professional team in the major four sports leagues. The CFL lasted one year there in 1994.Obviously hes talked to (Foley). Gary says theyve done a lot of due diligence, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. Seems like a logical tire-kicking process to me.What Las Vegas represents for the NHL is the chance to get into a potentially lucrative market before the NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball. But before that determination is made — which would require board of governors approval — this ticket drive gives Foley and the league some more evidence of whether it could work.Im assuming if Mr. Foley wants to do this, then he wants to know what the level of interest is, Bettman said, Hes put a lot of time and effort into expressing interest, I think he wants to know whether or not this is something to continue to be worthwhile for him to pursue.A 20,000-seat arena is under construction on the Las Vegas strip thats set to open in the spring of 2016. With Foley taking this next step, the NHL also has less uncertainty when it comes to ownership.Those are questions that exist in places like Seattle, and geography hurts Quebec City because there are already 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the West. Pierre Dion of Quebecor, considered the most likely owner of a new incarnation of the Nordiques, was at the board of governors meeting, but Bettman said his presence was to discuss the leagues TV arrangement with TVA.Pierre Dion and the board did not discuss at all the new building or the team, Bettman said. There is no measure here. We havent ranked teams. We havent ranked markets. There is no process.This is purely a request from someone under a unique situation asking for an opportunity to measure interest, and for example, I dont think that would be necessary in Quebec City.Las Vegas is such a unique market because of the service industry there and the transient population. Theres also minimal hockey tradition there, although the ECHLs Wranglers have played in Las Vegas since 2003.Foley, a businessman Forbes reports to be worth $600 million, will run the ticket drive and inform the NHL how hes doing it. Beyond that, Bettman said theres no timeline.This is a discrete request to test the market, no more than that, he said. Nothing else has been decided. Nothing else is being focused on.Bettman also implied that theres nothing keeping the NHL from adding just one other team instead of two. The fundamental thinking has been two more teams would provide balance, but thats something that could be remedied down the road.Two other major topics were discussed on the first of two days of meetings at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Those involved the 2015-16 salary cap and the status of the sale of the Arizona Coyotes.The preliminary estimate for next years salary cap is US$73 million, a number that Bettman said is dependent on the status of the Canadian dollar. That figure would be accurate if the Canadian dollar continues to be worth 88 cents U.S.Obviously if the Canadian dollar rises relative to the U.S. dollar, the cap will go up a little bit, Bettman said. And if it goes down the Canadian dollar, the cap will go down a little bit, but thats the universe that were in.A cap of $73 million would put the floor at roughly $54 million.Also Monday the board got an update on the sale of 51 per cent of the Coyotes to hedge-fund manager Andrew Barroway. Bettman said the deal was on track to happen.Bettman denied reports that the deal was dead, saying paperwork was finalized late last week.It isnt done, and thats the only reason that there wasnt a vote, Bettman said. We werent ready from our standpoint in terms of the process that we need to go through.The NHL, Bettman said, is also not ready to expand. As he has for more than a year, the commissioner said theres no formal expansion process, even as Foley moves forward with his experiment.This is in the conceptual stage, Bettman said. The concept is that OK, what it means: Theres work to be done.___Follow @SWhyno on TwitterNote to readers: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. Pierre Dions name was misspelled in a previous version. Babe Ruth Jersey .S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is complete. Freddie Freeman Braves Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/deion-sanders-braves-jersey/ . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Madison Bumgarner is a throwback to the days before pampering and pitch counts.Tall, with droopy hair and the look of a gunslinger, he strung together a sequence of World Series performances seldom seen since the games were played in daylight, kids in school listened on radios and Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich dominated.What a fitting way to finish a throwback season that resembled the pitching-and-defence days of the 1960s and 70s far more than the fin-de-siecle slugfests of the Steroids Era.I dont know if itll ever be done again, Jeremy Affeldt said after Bumgarner came out of the bullpen with five scoreless innings to lead San Francisco over the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Wednesday for the Giants third World Series title in five years.In an age when arms are treated like fragile investments and fear of Tommy John surgery fills every clubhouse, Bumgarner just wanted the ball as often as possible. He won the opener with seven innings of one-run ball, pitched a four-hit shutout over 117 pitches in Game 5 and then whipped 68 more by the Royals in Game 7. He pitched more than one-third of San Franciscos World Series innings: 21 of 61.Some grand totals, courtesy of Brooks Baseball: He threw 205 of 291 pitches (70 per cent) for strikes. His arsenal of smoke and trickery included 152 fastballs (52 per cent), 81 cutters (28 per cent), 44 curveballs, 11 changeups and three of those Bugs Bunny slow curves,We probably would have won if they didnt have him, Kansas Citys Lorenzo Cain said. But they do have him.With two wins and a save, Bumgarner dominated in a manner not seen since Arizonas Randy Johnson won Games 2, 6 and 7 against the New York Yankees in 2001, becoming the first pitcher with three Series victories since Lolich led Detroit to the 1968 title.After throwing 101 pitches in a 15-2 Game 6 blowout, the Big Unit threw 17 more on no days rest the next night. He retired Chuck Knoblauch, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada in order, and the Diamondbacks rallied against Mariano Rivera in the ninth to end the Yankees run of three straight championships.No other pitcher has won three Series games in the expansion era, when the post-season changed from a best-of-seven faceoff of pennant winners to a sprawling month that tests depth and endurance. When St. Louis gave Chris Carpenter three starts in the 2011 Series, it was because of a rainout that meant only the last was on short rest.In the 45 years of the expansion era, Jack Morris had the singular best Game 7 start, a 10-inning, seven-hit shutout that boosted Minnesota over Atlanta in 1991. That followed a win in the opener and a no-decision in Game 4. Ozzie Albies Braves Jersey. f it was the 25th inning, I think Jack would still be out there, Twins teammate Kent Hrbek said. They would have had to drag him off the mound.Morris thinks Bumgarner comes from the same big-game mould.I want to hug him, Morris said at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Hes my kind of guy. ... Hes got the same emotions, he just doesnt show them. Hes got a big furnace burning right now.In 1968, the last season before expansion and what became known as The Year of the Pitcher, the Cardinals Bob Gibson threw three complete games against Detroit. After opening with a five-hit shutout, he pitched a five-hitter and allowed one run on three days rest to win Game 4.Gibson permitted a lone infield single through the first six innings of Game 7, again on three days rest, then gave up Jim Northrups tiebreaking, two-run triple that centre fielder Curt Flood misjudged during a three-run seventh in a 4-1 defeat.Lolich also pitched three complete games and topped Gibson: He threw a six-hitter to win Game 2, a nine-hitter on three days rest to win Game 5 and a five-hitter on two days rest to win Game 7.Last weekend, former broadcaster and St. Louis catcher Tim McCarver paid tribute to Bumgarner.Its Gibson-esque, if you will. I know Bob could do that and I saw that from a 60-feet, 6-inch view of him every outing he threw in the World Series. I see the same thing in Bumgarner. I really admire that, McCarver said.In 1965, Koufax didnt pitch the Dodgers Series opener at Minnesota because of Yom Kippur and lost to Jim Kaat the following day. Koufax pitched a four-hit shutout on three days rest to win Game 5, then came back with a three-hit shutout on two days rest to win Game 7.Going back further, Milwaukees Lew Burdette beat the Yankees in Games 2, 5 and 7 in 1957, pitching a seven-hit shutout on two days rest in the finale.And in the Dead Ball Era, the Giants Christy Mathewson set the standard against the Philadelphia Athletics with three shutouts: a four-hitter in the opener, another four-hitter on two days rest in Game 3 and a five-hitter on two days rest in the clinching Game 5.Of course the game is different no, Bumgarner pitched a record 52 2-3 innings in this post-season, going 4-1 with a 1.03 ERA in six starts and the longest appearance for a save in World Series history, a grind that boosted his season total to 270 innings. Bumgarner is 4-0 with a save and a record-low 0.25 ERA in earning three World Series rings.Hes a stud. Thats all, said Tim Hudson, the Giants Game 7 starter. Hes a stud. ' ' '