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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A 16-driver championship field that would be whittled down to create a winner-take-all season finale is among radical changes reportedly being considered by NASCAR. NASCAR chairman Brian France has repeatedly said he wants to place a greater emphasis on winning, and hes never ruled out tinkering with the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format in an effort to create the "Game 7 moments" he covets. The Charlotte Observer first reported Friday night a possible overhaul to the Chase format that France first introduced in 2004 and has made periodic changes to several times since. Citing anonymous sources, The Observer outlined three major changes beginning with expanding the field from 12 drivers to 16 -- meaning a win during the "regular season" would virtually guarantee a driver a spot in the field. Once the field is set, The Observer said NASCAR is considering eliminations during the 10-race Chase. The field would be cut after the third, sixth and ninth races. The proposed eliminations would drop the lowest four drivers from title contention after the third, sixth and ninth races, leaving four drivers eligible for a "winner-take-all" race in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The four remaining drivers would go into Homestead with their points reset and tied in the standings, The Observer said. A statement from NASCAR chief communications officer Brett Jewkes was non-committal on The Observer report. "NASCAR has begun the process of briefing key industry stakeholders on potential concepts to evolve its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship format," Jewkes said. "This dialogue is the final phase of a multi-year process that has included the review of extensive fan research, partner and industry feedback and other data-driven insights. NASCAR has no plans to comment further until the stakeholder discussions are complete. We hope to announce any potential changes for the 2014 season to our media and fans very soon." But driver Denny Hamlin posted a series of Tweets on Saturday afternoon that supported the format if NASCAR ultimately moves forward with the changes. NASCAR is expected to officially outline any changes later this month. "This points system change is going to be a really good thing. Trust in it and watch how exciting each chase race is going to be," Hamlin posted. Hamlin also Tweeted that every Chase race will now be as exciting as the September race at Richmond, which is the final race to set the Chase field. He also responded to two fans who criticized the format. One argued it was "artificially construed excitement" instead of the traditional consistency that NASCAR used for decades in crowning its champion. "Consistency will keep you up top," Hamlin replied. Hamlin received support from 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who replied on Twitter to him that he also liked the reported new format. "Guess we may be in the minority here," Keselowski said. NASCAR has been working feverishly behind the scenes to improve its on-track product, particularly at 1.5-mile tracks, and at least some changes are expected to the points system to meet Frances desire to put a greater emphasis on winning. France was thrilled with the finish of the March race at California, where feuding drivers Hamlin and Joey Logano relentlessly raced for the win. The two ended up wrecking -- Hamlin ended up with a broken bone in his back that sidelined him for more than a month -- and Kyle Busch slid through the carnage for the victory as a furious Tony Stewart nearly came to blows with Logano on pit road. Its that kind of competitiveness, compelling action and drama that France seeks every week. Despite introducing The Chase in 2004, NASCAR has failed to create many of those breathtaking "Game 7" moments in the finale. The debut was successful as Kurt Busch beat Jimmie Johnson for the title by eight points, and five drivers went into the 2005 finale mathematically eligible to win the championship. Then Jimmie Johnson reeled off five consecutive championships, snapped only by Tony Stewarts race-winning, championship-deciding showing in the 2011 finale. Keselowski won easily in 2012 when Johnson was felled by mechanical problems, and it was Johnson, again, in an easy Sunday drive for win No. 6 in November. So a shake up to the system wouldnt be unexpected. But it may not necessarily look like what The Observer reported -- the newspaper was clear the format is only being considered -- because its not unlike NASCAR to float ideas to gauge reaction. For example, NASCAR officials met in October with drivers to discuss an overhaul to qualifying procedures. Among the "potential" changes discussed that day was road course-style qualifying everywhere but Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR said it was considering a 60-minute drafting session for Daytona and Talladega qualifying. In reality, cars will qualify as usual next month at Daytona while NASCAR is now apparently considering three rounds of "knockout style" qualifying -- similar to what Formula One and IndyCar use -- everywhere else but Talladega. Virgil van Dijk Jersey . -- Theres been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday -- even after doing something positive. Dominic Solanke Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Virgil-Van-Dijk-Liverpool-Jersey/ . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana. Simon Mignolet Jersey . - The RBC Canadian Open will return to Glen Abbey Golf Club next year, marking the 27th time that the national open championship will be played at the Oakville, Ont. Jordan Henderson Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give.TORONTO -- Some call it the Ed-wing. Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. When Edwin Encarnacion rounds first base on his home run trot, he raises his right arm slightly and sticks out his elbow. It has become a very familiar sight during the Blue Jays season-high eight-game winning streak. The Toronto slugger homered for the third straight game as the Blue Jays outscored the Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. Encarnacion hit one of three Toronto homers and starter Mark Buehrle picked up his major league-leading ninth victory for the American League East division leaders. Encarnacion, who has hit 14 of his 16 homers in May, also tied Jose Bautistas club record for most homers in a month set back in June 2012. "You cant describe it," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "Ive been seeing that parrot a lot, thats for sure." Adam Lind and Juan Francisco also went deep for the Blue Jays, who outhit the Rays 13-12. Toronto has won 13 of its last 15 games and 18 of 23. "Theyre no fun right now," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Everything theyve got going on right now seems to be working." Buehrle (9-1), meanwhile, allowed eight hits and three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings. He wasnt as sharp as previous starts but kept the damage to a minimum. Lind and Encarnacion hit back-to-back shots in Torontos four-run fifth inning. "Everybodys having fun," Encarnacion said. "You can see it on their faces. Were playing great baseball when were on the field. So I think thats the No. 1 thing weve been doing. "Playing great baseball, playing the best baseball and enjoying it, enjoying the game." Linds homer was a two-run blast and Encarnacion followed with a monster shot that landed just above the second deck inside the left-field foul pole. Francisco added a solo shot in the seventh and Casey Janssen worked the ninth inning for his eighth save as Tampa Bay (23-30) lost its second straight game. Toronto (31-22) will go for the sweep of the three-game series on Wednesday night. "Just this offence and the way the guys are swinging the bat, it seems like the pitching - everything is coming together," Buehrle said. Both Buehrle and Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb (1-2) were quick and efficient over the first three innings. The Rays scored a pair in the top half of the fourtth and the Jays answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half.dddddddddddd. Toronto went to work in the fifth after Jose Reyes lashed a ball back to the mound that hit Cobb on his right side near the waist. Cobb stayed in but struggled through the rest of the frame, giving up an RBI single to Bautista before the back-to-back homers. "Id love to blame it on something but honestly it was really good hitters hitting good pitches," Cobb said. The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the sixth and a single run in the seventh. "It was one of those games that didnt feel good even until the end," Gibbons said. "We opened up the lead a little bit and then they tacked on a few runs to pull to within three. It definitely wasnt a comfortable game. "But when you fall behind, I mean were confident right now. Were really confident." Buehrle, who received a standing ovation after he was pulled, walked a batter and struck out three. Cobb allowed nine hits, six earned runs and a walk over five innings while striking out seven. His earned-run average jumped from 1.40 to 2.93. "I thought Cobb had really good stuff tonight, not pedestrian by any means," Maddon said. "He was really good, moving along really nicely and all of a sudden they struck." Notes: Announced attendance was 15,993 and the game took three hours to play. ... It was the fourth time this season that the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back home runs. Lind has three homers on the season while Francisco has nine. ... Toronto has hit at least one homer in 10 straight games. ... The Blue Jays longest winning streak before this was an 11-gamer last June. ... Gibbons challenged a call in the third inning when first-base umpire ruled that Yunel Escobar was safe. After a review of just 40 seconds, the call was overturned and Escobar was ruled out, making it a 4-6-3 double play. ... Navarro showed his mettle in the third inning. He was struck on his catching hand by Jose Molinas bat on an awkward follow-through and then took a foul tip to his right arm later in the at-bat. He said he bruised a finger and expects to play the series finale. ... Liam Hendriks (1-0) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Tampa Bays Chris Archer (3-2). ... The Blue Jays will complete the 10-game homestand later this week with a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. 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