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ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons wont apologize for somehow being in first place with a losing record.They shouldnt have to.This one is on the NFL.The league should seriously consider realignment — or, at the very least, a revamping of the playoff system — to prevent a repeat of this looming post-season embarrassment: the Falcons or New Orleans Saints or whoever emerges as champion of the woeful NFC South actually getting to host a first-round game when they have no business playing after December.Its set up the way it is, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan said with a shrug. Were not worried about what people say.The NFL should be.The playoffs are supposed to reward the best teams, and no one would put Atlanta (4-6), New Orleans (4-6), Carolina (3-7-1) or Tampa Bay (2-8) in that group.Yep, even the Buccaneers are still in the post-season mix, a team that trailed the Falcons 56-0 early in the season and just doubled its win output with a victory over Washington.Normally this time of year, when youre talking about that second win, youre not throwing a lot of parties, coach Lovie Smith quipped. But for us, to be two wins out of first place in the win column, that is big.Its not like this is all that unusual, either.In the last six years, three mediocre teams — San Diego in 2008 and Denver in 2011 with 8-8 records, Seattle in 2010 at 7-9 — not only made the playoffs at the expense of more-deserving teams, but won their opening playoff games against superior opponents largely because they were playing at home.The NFL, you see, gives the top four seeds in each conference to the division champions, regardless of whether a wild-card team — or, as was the case in the aforementioned years — both wild-card teams have better records.Thats certainly going to be the case again this season in the NFC.The Falcons, in fact, could actually win the division with a 6-10 record, having beaten no one outside the South.If that happens, they would still open the playoffs at the Georgia Dome.Other than the World Series, where home-field advantage is ridiculously based on which league wins the All-Star Game, every other post-season series in every other sport gives that edge to the team with the best record.The NBA saw the light a few years ago. Its six division champions are still guaranteed playoff berths and slotted into the top three seeds in each conference, but they dont get home court if they team theyre paired against has a better mark.Its past time for the NFL to adopt something similar.But that doesnt go far enough.The current eight-division alignment and scheduling format should be scrapped immediately, since it clearly breeds these sort of travesties. With only four teams in each division, and just six of 16 games against division opponents, its really not all that farfetched to have wind up with a wretched group such as the NFC South.The NFL should go back to the six-division alignment that worked just fine for so many years before the league expanded to 32 teams. It might look something like this:— AFC East: Buffalo, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Miami, New England and New York Jets.— AFC Central: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.— AFC West: Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego.— NFC East: Carolina, Dallas, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington.— NFC Central: Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota and St. Louis.— NFC West: Arizona, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle.This alignment would preserve most of the most important rivalries, with only one geographical anomaly — Atlanta and New Orleans in the NFC West — that actually has historical precedence. The Falcons and the Saints were members of that division from 1970 until the current alignment was adopted for the 2002 season.With larger divisions, the odds are much better that at least one worthy team would emerge from each, allowing the NFL to still guarantee automatic berths to each division champion while freeing up two extra wild-card berths for the worthiest teams. Also, this setup would lead to half of the 16-game schedule being made up of division contests; in the five-team divisions, everyone would still play home and home, while six-team divisions would have three home-and-homes on a rotating basis and single games against the other two rivals.The rest of the schedule would be made up of four intra-conference games, and retain the current setup of four games against the opposing conference. It wouldnt be quite as neat as the current arrangement, but it shouldnt be much of a problem coming up with a formula — based largely on playing teams with similar records the previous season — that would result in even more parity.Parity is fine.A losing team in the playoffs is not.___Paul Newberry is a national writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Emmitt Smith Womens Jersey . UEFA said Wednesday that the champions of England and France only have to include five home-trained players in their 21-man squads next season instead of the expected eight. Only one of the five players needs to be trained by the club itself. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey . Make the extra pass, take care of the ball, play defence and get more out of his bench. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/El...Cowboys-Jersey/. The 57-year-old Tietjens has coached New Zealand to nine IRB World Sevens titles and to four Commonwealth Games gold medals as its only coach in the professional era. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the re-signing was made with a focus on 2016 when sevens will be in the Olympics. Larry Allen Womens Jersey . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf. Daryl Johnston Jersey . Before that, Rousey needed a total 23 minutes and 26 seconds to take care of her last eight opponents - and one of those fights lasted 10 minutes and 58 seconds.BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Brazil advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over Chile following a tense and thrilling battle that ended 1-1 after extra time. Neymar, David Luiz and Marcelo scored in the shootout, and Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved two penalties before watching Gonzalo Jaras final attempt hit the post. "My teammates are giving me a lot of strength on the field so I give my best," Cesar said. "Were just three steps away and I hope to give another interview with Brazil partying." Brazil, which extended its 39-year unbeaten streak in home competitive matches to 61, will next face either Colombia or Uruguay in the quarterfinals. Neither team managed to score at the Mineirao Stadium after first-half goals from Luiz and Sanchez, but Brazil came close to an early exit when Mauricio Pinillas shot hit the crossbar in the final moments of extra time. Chile also had the best chance in the second half, when Cesars spectacular save on Charles Aranguizs shot kept the score even. Brazil has reached the quarterfinals of each World Cup since Argentina eliminated it in the second round in 1990. Getting knocked out at that stage in its own World Cup would have been a disaster. But the Brazilians overcame their nerves in the shootout, with Neymar scoring the final penalty after Cesar stopped spot kicks from Pinilla and Sanchez. When Jara hit the post, some of Brazils players celebrated wildly while others fell to the ground, exhausted and emotionally drained. Willian, who missed a penalty for Brazil, sobbed uncontrollably, as Fred helped him to his feet. As the crowd roared, the Brazilian players joined hands in a human chain. The Chileans stood still, staring into the ground, wiping the sweat off their faces. "We tried to give everything, we tried to fight for a dream, and we didnt achieve it," Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal said.dddddddddddd "But we gave all our effort on the pitch." Calling it a "harsh" loss, Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli said he had been convinced his team would come out the winner. "Do you think I can be satisfied with the result?" Sampaoli said. "Weve played a hard 120 minutes even if everybody was against us in the stadium." Brazil went ahead in the 18th minute after Thiago Silva deflected Neymars corner kick toward the far post. Luiz was given the goal but replays showed Chile defender Gonzalo Jara may have touched the ball before it went in. Brazil lost the lead when it failed to cope with Chiles aggressive pressure in a throw-in situation deep inside Brazils half of the field. Eduardo Vargas intercepted Hulks pass and found Sanchez on the right side of the area. The Barcelona striker scored easily with a shot toward the far post. Neymar, Fred and Dani Alves had chances in the first half while a second-half goal from Hulk was disallowed when referee Howard Webb ruled he handled the ball. Chile has never beaten Brazil in Brazil but was hoping for another upset after eliminating defending champion Spain in the group stage. "We played the toughest opponents in the tournament, Spain, Holland, Brazil, and we never played like a team that was weaker than anyone else," said Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who blocked Hulks attempt in the shootout and watched Willians shot go wide. "The truth is that we are very sad because we could have won the match before, we should have taken advantage of some good chances," Bravo said. "We felt we could win and we didnt." ' ' '