£50,000 in National 3. How is that fair, and further tha

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Canada will face Sweden in Thursdays quarter-final at the IIHF World Championship. That matchup was confirmed Tuesday when Switzerland defeated Belarus 4-1 to finish first with 20 points atop Canadas pool. Canada (5-1-1-0) ranked second with 18 points. Sweden (5-2, 15 points) had third locked up before beating Denmark 4-2 in its final preliminary-round game. The top four countries in each group of eight advance to the quarter-finals with first playing fourth and second facing third. The Czech Republic hammered Norway 7-0 to claim the groups fourth and final playoff berth Tuesday. The Czechas meet unbeaten Switzerland in Thursdays other quarter-final in Stockholm. Finland finished atop the Helsinki pool after a 3-2 win over Latvia and will face Slovakia in the quarter-finals. Slovakia clinched fourth place in the group with a 4-1 win over the United States. Russia and the Americans will meet in the other Helsinki quarter-final. Also Tuesday, Germany edged France 3-2 in overtime. The Canadians had a day off from the ice Tuesday after a 4-3 overtime win over Slovenia to conclude the round robin the previous night. Some players were already expecting the host country to be their next opponent in the tournament. Canada defeated Sweden 3-0 last week, but that was before the arrival of forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin and defenceman Alex Edler from the Vancouver Canucks. "Theyve added some key players and they gave us a tight game already in front of their home fans," Canadian forward Steven Stamkos said. "Its going to be a hostile environment." The quarter-final is a game Canada couldnt get past the last three years in this tournament. Canada last won a world title in 2007 and its last medal was a silver in 2009. Defenceman P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens was scheduled to arrive in Stockholm on Tuesday. The finalist for the Norris Trophy that goes to the NHLs top defenceman will skate with the Canadian team Wednesday and play Thursday. "P.K. is going to come and help us thats for sure," Canadian assistant captain Stephane Robidas said. "You cant rely on just one guy to do all the work or on one line or one set of defencemen. You need the whole group. You need everybody to pull together in the same direction. Everybody has to chip in in different ways. I think thats what weve had the last couple of games." Archie Manning Youth Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Thomas Morstead Youth Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Michael-Thomas-Saints-Jersey/ .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Marcus Davenport Youth Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Drew Brees Saints Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference.I have always enjoyed the way Danny Cipriani has played, and feel he has not had as much Test rugby as I believe he warrants, but I am nonetheless excited to see Alex Lozowski in the England squad. For me it speaks volumes of Englands depth, as well as Eddie Jones willingness to pluck players from outside the traditional big names. With this weekends Championship game on our screens, depth is something that has been particularly on my mind all week.Recent talk of scrapping the promotion play-offs in the Championship has me concerned about what will happen to the game on our shores. I know business is business, but rugby is still a sport and therefore has to remain competitive at all levels in order to maintain its appeal. We must keep the promotion-relegation system if we are to retain our integrity. As the wage gap keeps increasing, towards arguably north of £8 million-a-year, we are in danger of pricing our game out of the reach of those not currently involved at the upper levels. Watch NOW TV All the excitement of Sky Sports at your fingertips for ￡6.99. No contract In the Championship game on Sunday you will have your first view of promotion favourites London Irish. When they were relegated at the end of last season, the Exiles had a large parachute payment to help them cope with the drop, while the rest of the division is funded by the RFU on a figure of around £500,000. You can already see the huge disparity between the leagues, and the void is something that should concern the RFU as well as the PRL.You need a highly competitive league beneath the Premiership, and the Championship needs something to play for right until the end of the season, which the play-off system offers. Without the play-offs you potentially have a team securing promotion into the Premiership by Easter. Bristol beat Doncaster 28-13 at Castle Park in the first leg of last seasons final London Irish are currently unbeaten, and with the squad they have, should stretch out to a healthy lead over the next few months. I would add that Yorkshire Carnegiie are also unbeaten, and might have something to say about London Irish stretching out to an unassailable lead! For the sake of a competitive league, I certainly hope they do.ddddddddddddIf one team does end up climbing the summit early, but there are still play-off places available at the end of the season, then teams who cant finish top of the league still have something to play for right up to May, which makes for a healthy league.In some leagues where there is no promotion and relegation, the end of the season sees a higher number of dead rubbers. London Scottish vs London Irish October 30, 2016, 2:45pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Below the Championship, according to recent reports the RFU are looking to place restriction on National 1 teams, to stop clubs from paying out more than £150,000 in total salary. That number then reduces to £100,000 in National 2 and £50,000 in National 3. How is that fair, and further than that, how is that even policed?That will stop competition for promotion into the Premiership, which stifles progression and achievement in the wider game. My mantra is that if youre good enough to secure promotion then you are good enough, no one team deserves it more than the others.The vast funding for TV deals and club-and-country packages need to be distributed as evenly as possible, not just top-heavy.We have a great game, there is some fantastic talent operating in the Championship, dont ruin what is a progressive league by under-funding it. The rich should not get richer in this great game of ours, we dont want a cartel or a mini-FIFA to dictate its future.You can watch Premier League football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Premiership home Premiership table Fixtures and results Rugby Union on Sky ' ' '