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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Greg McGarity had reason to be concerned. The Gator Bowl president kept a watchful eye on College Football Playoff scenarios all season and understood the fallout might affect his postseason matchup in Jacksonville. What if the Southeastern Conference got five teams into the expanded CFP? What if the Atlantic Coast Conference landed three spots? It was a math problem that was impossible to truly answer, even into late November. Four first-round playoff games, which will end with four good teams going home without a bowl game, had the potential to shake up the system. The good news for McGarity and other bowl organizers: Adding quality teams to power leagues — Oregon to the Big Ten, Texas to the SEC and SMU to the ACC — managed to ease much of the handwringing. McGarity and the Gator Bowl ended up with their highest-ranked team, No. 16 Ole Miss, in nearly two decades. "It really didn't lessen our pool much at all," McGarity said. "The SEC bowl pool strengthened with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. You knew they were going to push traditional SEC teams up or down. Texas ended up pushing just about everyone down." The long waiting game was the latest twist for non-CFP bowls that have become adept at dealing with change. Efforts to match the top teams came and went in the 1990s and first decade of this century before the CFP became the first actual tournament in major college football. It was a four-team invitational — until this year, when the 12-team expanded format meant that four quality teams would not be in the mix for bowl games after they lose next week in the first round. "There's been a lot of things that we've kind of had to roll with," said Scott Ramsey, president of the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. "I don't think the extra games changed our selection model to much degree. We used to look at the New York's Six before this, and that was 12 teams out of the bowl mix. The 12-team playoff is pretty much the same." Ramsey ended up with No. 23 Missouri against Iowa in his Dec. 30 bowl. A lot of so-called lesser bowl games do have high-profile teams — the ReliaQuest Bowl has No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan (a rematch of last year's CFP semifinal), Texas A&M and USC will play in the Las Vegas Bowl while No. 14 South Carolina and No. 15 Miami, two CFP bubble teams, ended up in separate bowls in Orlando. "The stress of it is just the fact that the CFP takes that opening weekend," Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti said. "It kind of condenses the calendar a little bit." Bowl season opens Saturday with the Cricket Celebration Bowl. The first round of the CFP runs Dec. 20-21. It remains to be seen whether non-CFP bowls will see an impact from the new dynamic. They will know more by 2026, with a planned bowl reset looming. It could include CFP expansion from 12 to 14 teams and significant tweaks to the bowl system. More on-campus matchups? More diversity among cities selected to host semifinal and championship games? And would there be a trickle-down effect for everyone else? Demand for non-playoff bowls remains high, according to ESPN, despite increased focus on the expanded CFP and more players choosing to skip season finales to either enter the NCAA transfer portal or begin preparations for the NFL draft. "There's a natural appetite around the holidays for football and bowl games," Kurt Dargis, ESPN's senior director of programming and acquisitions, said at Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics Forum last week in Las Vegas. "People still want to watch bowl games, regardless of what's going on with the playoff. ... It's obviously an unknown now with the expanded playoff, but we really feel like it's going to continue." The current bowl format runs through 2025. What lies ahead is anyone's guess. Could sponsors start paying athletes to play in bowl games? Could schools include hefty name, image and likeness incentives for players participating in bowls? Would conferences be willing to dump bowl tie-ins to provide a wider range of potential matchups? Are bowls ready to lean into more edginess like Pop-Tarts has done with its edible mascot? The path forward will be determined primarily by revenue, title sponsors, TV demand and ticket sales. "The one thing I have learned is we're going to serve our partners," Saccenti said. "We're going to be a part of the system that's there, and we're going to try to remain flexible and make sure that we're adjusting to what's going on in the world of postseason college football." Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Sean Payton is a big fan of Bo Nix, but his appreciation for the rookie quarterback started even before the Denver Broncos drafted him. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Payton considered flying to Nix to tell him in person that the Broncos were planning to draft him back in April. "You can't get in a conversation with Sean Payton without him bringing up how great Bo Nix is in like 0.2 seconds," Glazer said. "...Here's the thing with Bo Nix, he loved him going all the way back to March and his personal workout. We all know Sean's crazy, he comes up with this crazy idea two days before the draft. He says, 'I'm going to fly to where Bo Nix is and when he gets drafted, I'm going to knock on his door and personally tell him that we're drafting him.' That's how much he loves this dude." This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .By Seena Katayama , ABC These oddly shaped shoes are turning heads from Hollywood to Melbourne's Swanston Street. First released in the late 1980s, high-end French fashion brand Maison Margiela's cloven-hoof-like tabi shoes were inspired by the Japanese footwear of the same name. Designer Martin Margiela said he first saw them being worn by construction workers during a visit to Japan. The brand's range these days include loafers, boots and ballet flats - the most popular retailing for A$1430 (NZ$1590) a pair. They even have a rhinestone cowboy-boot style with a price tag of A$12,790. In the West, Margiela's polarising designs have long been a symbol of wealth and style. But recently a new generation of celebrities have discovered the tabis, bringing them into the public consciousness. Zendaya wore them in Sydney, Pedro Pascal on the red carpet, and Dua Lipa during on a night out in New York. Earlier this year, Vogue India declared the Maison Margiela tabis "shoes of the year". That accolade followed a viral saga on social media platform TikTok, when a New York content creator went on a Tinder date with someone who stole her A$1800 tabis - and was later able to track down the thief. The humble origin of the tabi The split-toe design of tabis is thought to have originally come to Japan from China in the 5th century as socks - which worked well with thongs. In the 15th century, a version made out of a single piece of leather that could be worn outdoors became popular. Later, when leather prices increased, cotton started to be used. Shojiro Ishibashi - who would go on to found Bridgestone tyres - reinvented the tabi in 1922 by reinforcing the soles with rubber and metal latches. These days in Japan, the sock form of tabi is once again most common. Tabi shoes, now known as jika-tabi, are still being worn at traditional summer festivals which often involve carrying portable shrines around the neighbourhood and dancing. They are also still popular among construction workers - who wear them with baggy trousers that allow the wearer to feel the wind and maintain their balance when working high up. Unlike their French designer interpretation, these tabi-style shoes - which often have steel-reinforced toes - usually retail for just A$50. Challenging conventional ideas of beauty RMIT fashion design lecturer Alexandra Sherlock said the polarising cloven-hoof shape of the tabi had always garnered attention for Western audiences, especially in fashion circles. "[Margiela] is not making the tabi just because it's unusual, but he's doing it to deconstruct notions around beauty and what we consider beautiful and what we might consider ugly," she said. Dr Sherlock said tabis were popular because they signalled the owner understood high fashion and could afford them. An opportunity for traditional craftspeople The Marugo company in the city of Kurashiki has made tabis for over 100 years, and are one of the few dedicated tabi makers still in business in Japan. Akira Namidome from Marugo told the ABC that the popularity of tabis in the West was helping keep the tradition alive in Japan. "We have always sold a consistent amount of tabis for the summer festival," Namidome said. However, he said fewer people had been taking part in these festivals in recent years. But adapting to changing trends is helping to keep businesses like Marugo open. The company created a new line of tabis geared towards their fashion-forward clientele, with a diverse range of styles and materials. Maki Hashimoto from SOU SOU, a Japanese textile maker which sells tabis with colourful patterns made with traditional materials, said half their clientele were from overseas. While the popularity of tabis has risen internationally, Hashimoto said she hoped Japanese people would continue to enjoy the shoes - and that the tradition would not be lost. "When I first joined the company a few decades ago, there were at least a dozen tabi makers, but now there are only three major ones including Marugo," she said. "I wear them to work, I wear them when I go running, when I go play golf ... I want everyone to see why I love them so much." - ABCNone

Shopping on Shein and Temu for holiday gifts? You're not the only one

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AP News Summary at 6:13 p.m. ESTElon Musk calls Trudeau 'insufferable' after remark on Kamala Harris defeat OTTAWA — Billionaire Elon Musk called Canada's prime minister an "insufferable tool" on his social media platform today. Musk's comments were in response to Justin Trudeau likening Kamala Harris's defeat in the U.S. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press Dec 11, 2024 2:25 PM Dec 11, 2024 2:50 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question from the opposition during Question Period, Dec. 11, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — Billionaire Elon Musk called Canada's prime minister an "insufferable tool" on his social media platform today. Musk's comments were in response to Justin Trudeau likening Kamala Harris's defeat in the U.S. presidential election to an attack on women's rights and progress. This afternoon, Trudeau met with provincial and territorial premiers to discuss Canada's approach to negotiations with the U.S. Canada is facing a threat of a 25 per cent tariff hike from incoming president Donald Trump, who defeated Harris in the November election. Earlier this week, Trump taunted Trudeau on social media, referring to the prime minister as the governor of what he called the "Great State of Canada." The post was an apparent reference to a joke Trump cracked at his dinner with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago estate nearly two weeks ago, where the president-elect teased that Canada could join the U.S. as its 51st state. Speaking on Tuesday night at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation — an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics — Trudeau said there are regressive forces fighting against women's progress. "It shouldn't be that way. It wasn't supposed to be that way. We were supposed to be on a steady, if difficult sometimes, march towards progress," Trudeau said, adding he is a proud feminist and will always be an ally. "And yet, just a few weeks ago, the United States voted for a second time to not elect its first woman president. Everywhere, women's rights and women's progress is under attack. Overtly, and subtly." In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk responded to a clip of Trudeau's remarks, saying, "He’s such an insufferable tool. Won't be in power for much longer." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National News MAID cases rose to 15,000 in 2023, but growth of cases halved Dec 11, 2024 3:27 PM Public inquiry called into conduct of Vancouver police in Myles Gray's beating death Dec 11, 2024 2:57 PM Lawyer for Abdelrazik accuses former minister of exiling him through passport denial Dec 11, 2024 2:50 PM Featured Flyer

Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China. 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A Point Douglas residents’ group says wider consultation with the community is needed if Winnipeg’s first supervised consumption site is established in the neighbourhood. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * A Point Douglas residents’ group says wider consultation with the community is needed if Winnipeg’s first supervised consumption site is established in the neighbourhood. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? A Point Douglas residents’ group says wider consultation with the community is needed if Winnipeg’s first supervised consumption site is established in the neighbourhood. An email to the Point Douglas Residents Committee from the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre on Oct. 26 said the site would be located “within the downtown Point Douglas area.” The committee shared the letter on social media and rushed to inform community members. The group worries voices from the area will be left unheard because federal rules for consultation only apply to “stakeholders” within 500 metres of the proposed supervised consumption site location. “Those who live and work within the affected area are given no voice whatsoever,” the letter reads. “Our concern is that if residents are not considered key stakeholders under the current federal guidelines, it becomes difficult or impossible to gauge the range of our residents’ reactions to the potentially serious impacts of these sites on the community at large.” The letter also asks that the consultation process include all Point Douglas residents and that the outcomes of that process be made publicly available. Heath Canada requires any application to run a supervised consumption site to include a community consultation report. That report must also contain “a description of measures to address concerns that were raised during the community consultation” noting consultation can be carried out through open houses, online surveys and door-to-door canvassing, Health Canada’s website says. Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said the province is following those rules. “Consultations aren’t done,” she said Friday. “It’s a process and we are following the process that is outlined by the federal government.” Smith said a potential location has been selected but would not say where. “We’re looking forward to sharing that location once we’ve completed all our due diligence and consultations,” she said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Malak Abas is a city reporter at the . Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the in 2020. . Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Malak Abas is a city reporter at the . Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the in 2020. . Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement

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