Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The NHL announced the return of the World Cup of Hockey after a 12-year absence. The two-week tournament, a joint effort of the NHL, NHL Players Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation, features eight teams and will take place in September 2016 in Toronto. We are thrilled to partner with the NHLPA in planning and producing what we expect will be the worlds best international hockey tournament, said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Saturday. The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will highlight not only our global reach, but also the skill and passion of the worlds best athletes. We would like to thank our international partners -- the IIHF and their members -- for their cooperation in helping to make this event a reality. The last World Cup took place in 2004 when Canada beat Finland in the final for the championship. The first tournament was held in 1996. The United States won that event, beating Canada in a best-of-three final. Six countries -- Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic -- will take part in the 2016 edition. The other two teams will be called Team Europe and Team North American Youngstars. The Team Europe squad will be made up of players from European nations other than Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, allowing players from Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Slovenia to fill out the roster. The North American Youngstars will be selected from a pool of the best young players aged 23 and under from Canada and the United States. We expect the 2016 World Cup of Hockey to be the most competitive tournament of its kind, with the worlds top players and best athletes, said NHLPA executive director Don Fehr. We look forward to working with the NHL, and the IIHF and its federations on this extraordinary event. We expect that this is the initial step in a series of events that will elevate our game over the next few years, including a World Cup in 2020. Each of the eight teams will feature 23 players -- 20 skaters and three goalies. The teams will be split into two groups and play a round-robin competition before moving on to a one-game semifinal round. The final round will be a best-of-three format between the two semifinal winners. Yeezy Boost 700 v2 Kopen . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Adidas Zx Flux Kopen .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-yeezy-boost-350-v2-sale.html. Ilonen birdied five of his closing seven holes in superb scoring conditions to end the day with a two-shot lead on the Fota Island course. Ilonen had just 26 putts on the occasion of his 300th European Tour event. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Belgie . -- Creighton apparently has Villanovas number. Adidas NMD Belgie . Mako Vunipola was promoted from the reserves, with Matt Mullan called up to the bench on Thursday. "It is important that Joe is with his partner at this exciting time," England coach Stuart Lancaster said. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Adam Jones knew the home runs would come and they did as the Baltimore Orioles kept up their strong start against Tampa Bay. Jones hit a pair of first-pitch solo homers and Jonathan Schoop launched a tiebreaking, two-run shot that sent the Orioles over the Rays 4-3 on Wednesday night. "Felt good to get the ball out of the infield," said Jones, who entered with just one homer this season. "Youve got to keep swinging, got to stay after it." Schoops drive in the seventh inning off Brandon Gomes (2-2) put the Orioles ahead 4-2. "Its really nice, especially to come through there and to get a W," Schoop said. Jones hit leadoff homers in both the second and fourth off Cesar Ramos. It was his fourth multihomer game. "I just put some good swings on some pitches that I should have driven and I drove them," Jones said. "Thats the rule of thumb. If its right down the middle you might as well hit it." Jones didnt get the chance to face Ramos a third time when Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon brought in Gomes, who got a fly from the Orioles slugger with two outs in the sixth. "You didnt want to keep pressing your luck right there," Maddon said. "Jones had some good at-bats. I loved Gomes on that part of the batting order." David DeJesus homered for the Rays, who have dropped the first two games of a three-game series and are 0-4 overall against the Orioles this season. Ryan Webb (1-0) went 1 1-3 scoreless innings for the win. Tommy Hunter struggled for the second straight game, pitching the ninth for his 10th save. One day after working out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in a 5-3 win, Hunter again ran into trouble in the ninth. Wil Myers led off with a doublle, moved up on Yunel Escobars one-out single and scored on a single by Ryan Hanigan.dddddddddddd Ben Zobrist then had a soft lineout and Desmond Jennings lined back to Hunter. "Were winning ballgames and thats the bottom line," Hunter said. "You would like it to go a little smoother. Id liked to have a clean frame, make it nice and easy for everybody, but thats not the way its going right now." DeJesus cut the Rays deficit to 2-1 on a solo homer off Bud Norris in the fifth. DeJesus has three homers in 15 at-bats against the Orioles right-hander. Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters was out of the starting lineup after making a trip earlier in the day to Pensacola to have his sore right elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews. While it was determined that Wieters would avoid the disabled list, he will likely be limited to designated hitter duty for a period of time. Tampa Bay tied it at 2 on a pinch-hit RBI single by Sean Rodriguez during the sixth. Both Norris and Ramos gave up two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. NOTES: Baltimore purchased the contract from Triple-A Norfolk of catcher Caleb Joseph, who went 0 for 3 in his major league debut. ... Baltimore RF Nick Markakis extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning single. ... Orioles 1B Chris Davis (strained left oblique) ran sprints, threw and hit in an indoor cage. ... Baltimore OF Francisco Pequero (right wrist) is set to start a minor league rehab assignment Friday with Norfolk. ... Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-4) and Rays LHP David Price (3-2) are the scheduled starters for the series finale Thursday night. ... Price has 55 strikeouts and five walks in 48 2-3 innings this season. ... The Rays are 6-1 in one-run games. ' ' '