GENEVA -- World Cup expansion plans got even bigger Monday, and the 2026 tournament could have 48 teams playing instead of 32.FIFA President Gianni Infantino outlined the idea that would see 16 teams go home after playing just one game in a new opening playoff round.The 16 playoff winners would join 16 seeded teams to begin a 32-team group stage that follows the current World Cup format.Expanding to 48 means more countries and regions all over the world would be happy, Infantino said in a speech in Bogota, Colombia.Infantinos suggested format would create a tournament of 80 matches instead of the current 64 -- driving up the price broadcasters would pay for rights to the worlds most-watched sports event.FIFA earned around $5 billion from the 2014 tournament in Brazil.The 2026 World Cup format and bidding process will begin to be discussed next week when Infantino chairs a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich.The United States, Canada and Mexico are potential bidders for a tournament that the North American soccer body CONCACAF believes it is overdue to host for the first time since the U.S. staged the World Cup in 1994.The FIFA ruling councils decision on the 2026 format is expected within months and is set to be a defining issue of Infantinos presidency before he is due for re-election in 2019.Infantino wooed FIFA voters by promising a 40-team World Cup before winning election in February. He is completing the mandate of Sepp Blatter, who supported a 32-team World Cup.Now Infantino believes that with 40 teams, the math doesnt work.You could have a tournament in which the 16 best teams advance to a group stage and the other 16 will came out of a `playoff ahead of the group stage, and the World Cup could end up with 48 teams, Infantino said at a university in the Colombian capital.How to define the best teams could ignite debate if seeding is decided on the merit of recent results, or a national teams historical record at past World Cups.On current FIFA rankings, the 16 best teams all come from Europe and South America, except for 15th-ranked Mexico.Infantinos previous employer, UEFA, provoked anger in recent weeks by changing future Champions League seeding and prize money distribution rules that favor traditional powers over emerging teams.Staging a World Cup of 48 teams would also add stress on host nations with extra demands for stadiums and training bases.That could favor candidates like the U.S. with existing infrastructure in place, or increase support for Infantinos election campaign idea of regional hosting across multiple countries. Phillip Lindsay Womens Jersey . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Dre Mont Jones Broncos Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/Youth-Brian-Dawkins-Broncos-Jerseys/ . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. John Elway Broncos Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Courtland Sutton Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 1,500 former players claiming that NFL teams and their training staffs dispensed powerful drugs while misleading them about the health risks will get their day in court.Federal judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California denied a motion Friday to dismiss the players lawsuit, allowing the discovery phase of the trial to begin.Alsup had dismissed a similar lawsuit in December 2014, in which former Chicago Bears great Richard Dent was the lead plaintiff among the dozen named. Alsup wrote that the collective bargaining agreement was the proper forum to resolve the players claims. That case is currently on appeal.The new lawsuit was filed in May 2015 in federal court in Baltimore and eventually transferred back to Alsup because it was closely related. The new class action, however, names each of the NFLs 32 teams individually and a new group of named plaintiffs -- 13 in all -- among them Cowboys Hall of Fame defensive back Mel Renfro and Etopia Evans, the widow of former Vikings and Ravens fullback Chuck Evans, who died of heart failure at age 41.In denying the motion to dismiss, Alsup also noted the new lawsuit claims the teams conduct was intentional, as opposed to negligent, and thus illegal. Players contend they were routineely and indiscriminately given powerful painkillers, often without prescriptions or even a cursory exam, to mask pain and injuries and get them back on the field without regard for their long-term health.ddddddddddddWhen asked about side effects of medications, club doctors and trainers responded, `none, `dont worry about them, `not much, `they are good for you, or, in the case of injections, `maybe some bruising, Alsup wrote, referring to what he called the well-pled facts of the players previous claim.These answers misrepresented the actual health dangers posed by these drugs, the judge added.Steve Silverman, the lead plaintiffs attorney in both lawsuits, said the court has opened the doors of justice for those players who were illegally drugged, used, abused and discarded by the NFL teams.Plaintiffs will now have the opportunity to put the NFL teams to task as to where these painkillers came from, how they were namelessly purchased in bulk, and why there is no record of examinations and prescriptions as to most players, he added.NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined comment.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '