LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Defending National Champion Florida will start the 2015 campaign at No. 1 as the Gators (55-12) received 20 first-place votes and totaled 699 points to claim the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top 25.

Coming off its first WCWS title, Florida, under the direction of Tim Walton, opens the season at No. 1 for the second time (2009) in program history. In 2014, the Gators spent five straight weeks in the top spot (Feb. 18-Mar. 18) before returning there at the end of the season.

Oregon (56-9-1), which reached the WCWS semifinals, was a mere five points (694) behind Florida after receiving eight first-place votes. National runner-up Alabama (53-13) chimed in at No. 3 with 648 points, while Oklahoma (51-13) received a first-place vote and 613 points and Florida State rounded out the top-5 with 571 points.

Coming in at No. 6 was Kentucky (50-19) with 565 points and at No. 7 with 536 points, UCLA. Rounding out the top-10 were Michigan (47-15), Louisiana (49-10-1) and national semifinalist Baylor (49-16).

To view the complete USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll, please click this LINK.

The Southeastern Conference led the way with nine total selections, while the Pacific-12 Conference added five and the Big 10 Conference three teams in the preseason rankings. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Sun Belt Conference boasted a pair of programs, respectively, while the Big East Conference and American Athletic Conference each had one squad represented.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Final 2014 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.

The first two games of the 2015 Women’s College World Series Championship Finals between the defending national champion/No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Michigan (best-of-three game series) have resulted in the most-watched WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 ever (Monday, June 1) and college softball’s highest overnight rating in eight years (Game 2 on Tuesday, June 2). Additionally, with Florida’s 3-2 victory in Game 1 and  Michigan’s 1-0 win in Game 2, the Gators and Wolverines will play just the fourth decisive WCWS Championship Finals Game 3 (Wednesday, June 3, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in history.  The 2015 WCWS Championship Finals are coming off an ESPN record-setting 2015 Women’s College World Series bracket round (May 28 – May 31).

Defending National Champion/No. 1 Florida vs. No. 3 Michigan is Most-Watched WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 Ever

2015 WCWS Finals Game 2: College Softball’s Highest Overnight in Eight Years

Only Fourth Ever Decisive WCWS Championship Finals Game 3 Tonighton ESPN (8 p.m. ET)

The 2015 WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 was watched by 1,542,000 average viewers (off a 1.0 rating), topping the 2009 WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 (Washington vs. Florida) for the most-watched WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 ever (1,412,000 viewers). Tuesday night’s Game 2 garnered a 1.2 overnight rating, resulting in college softball’s highest overnight rating since the 2007 WCWS Championship Finals Game 2 (Tennessee and Arizona)  which earned  a 1.4 overnight. Combined, the 2015 WCWS Championship Finals Games 1 and 2 has averaged a 1.1 overnight, tying it for the second most-watched WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 and Game 2 on record (since 2007).

Additionally, 2015 WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 audience and Game 2 overnight are up 37% (1,126,000 viewers) and 33% (0.9 overnight rating), respectively, compared to the 2014 WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 and Game 2 which featured Alabama vs. Florida.

Please note: Only overnight rating (and not audience numbers) were available for Game 2 when this release was issued

Top Markets (Combined Games 1 and Games 2)

Detroit is the highest-rated local market with a 3.7 rating, followed by Birmingham (3.2), Knoxville (2.9), Jacksonville & Oklahoma City (2.6), Orlando (2.5), Tampa (2.1), Nashville (2.0) and Dayton (1.9).

WatchESPN

The 2015 WCWS Championship Finals Game 1 and Game 2 (combined) has experienced a 120% growth in average minute audience and a 84% spike in total unique viewers on WatchESPN compared to the 2014 WCWS Finals Game 1 and 2.

2015 Women’s College World Series Championship Finals Game 3 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

With only the fourth decisive Game 3 to be played tonight, both Florida and Michigan are looking to make history. The Gators would be just the third team to win back-to-back national championships joining UCLA and Arizona – who have each done it multiple times.

Michigan, also going for its second national championship, is trying to duplicate what it did in 2005 – rebound to win both Game 2 and Game 3 after dropping Game 1. In fact, in the other two years (2007, 2012) which a Game 3 was needed, both times the winner of Game 2 went on to win Game 3 (Arizona and Alabama).

— Courtesy of ESPN

The federal government recently legislated Canada Post employees back to work following weeks of rotating strikes. But with Christmas just around the corner, an unprecedented backlog of undelivered packages has forced the agency to cancel its holiday delivery guarantee.

“We’ve been working through [the backlog] but more and more comes and it’s more than we’re able to get out the door,” Canada Post spokesperson John Hamilton told CTV News.

Typically, it’s the agency’s most lucrative time of year: parcel revenue grew by $393 million in 2017 compared to the year before, and the bulk of that haul happened during the Christmas season. They delivered around one million parcels per day for 40 consecutive days during the holidays, notching a 20 per cent increase from 2016, which was also a record-breaking year.

But now that Canada Post customers can expect lengthy waits for the foreseeable future — international parcels could be even delayed to March 2019 — a crop of nimble alternative shipping services are stepping in to fill the vacuum during the height of holiday gift-giving.

eShipper, a Toronto-based company founded in 2005, takes a sweep of available carriers — including Purolator, DHL and UPS — and finds customers the best rate to deliver their goods anywhere in the world.

The process is pretty simple: you create an online account, get a quote, print a label and send it off. Customers get free package pick-up from their home or office, which will probably prove convenient once the apocalyptic snowstorms get started.

Imtiaz Kermali, eShipper’s vice president of sales and business development, says providing customers with a competitive alternative to Canada Post is part of the company’s business model. He described eShipper as the “Expedia of shipping.”

“My job as a salesperson is to go into the system and compare the rate you pay with Canada Post and beat it,” Kermali told HuffPost Canada.

ShipTime, Inc. offers a similar service for consumers and small businesses alike.

“If you’re a small business with limited volume, you’re able to tap into our collective buying power to get cost-effective rates for all kinds of shipping,” Allan Pratt, president and CEO of the Oakville-based company told HuffPost.

Pratt says business has grown significantly since the strike was announced in the fall.

For entrepreneurs across the country, Chit Chats offers another option: they will drive your packages across the border, dump them in the USPS’ mail stream and save you money.

The business essentially began in 1998, when company founder Derek Nolan figured he could drive packages from Durham, Ont., across the border himself to circumvent expensive Canadian shipping costs. When his neighbours caught wind of the idea, they started to load Nolan’s station wagon with their U.S.-bound packages, too.

Today, Chit Chats offers free online sign-ups and 18 drop-off locations across Canada. They are planning to open nine more in the new year.

“We benefit every time a Canada Post strike happens,” Juhee Cha, communications manager for Chit Chats, told HuffPost. She reported four times the usual Chit Chats account sign-ups and a 30 per cent increase in shipping volume since the strikes were announced.

There is a catch, though: in order to comply with border regulations and ship duty-free, packages from small businesses must be valued at less than $800 USD.

For many small and micro-businesses, that limit isn’t a problem.

According to Cha, customers on Vancouver Island, where there is no drop-off location, are willing to cough up the cost of shipping to a Vancouver or Richmond drop-off location: it’s still cheaper, and faster, than shipping directly to the U.S.

The process works well for Maps As Art, a Sechelt, B.C.company that designs custom-made maps. Cha said the firm saves $8 per package compared to Canada Post.

“If you know the cost of shipping is the same cost as the item you’re trying to deliver, your business is just not viable,” Cha said. “People don’t want just shut their businesses down because they can’t ship to their customers. We offer them a viable way not to do that.”

While Pratt of ShipTime Inc. has weathered five Canada Post strikes during the 30 years he has worked in the shipping business, he described today’s circumstances as “exasperating.”

“Any strike or threat of strike puts incredible strain on a carrier’s entire infrastructure,” he said. “But I have never experienced this kind of pressure on the system so close to peak season. “

Carriers are indeed feeling the strain: some, like FedEx, have limited the services they’ll provide for new customers, opting to first clear out bursting warehouses.

Still, it’s not all bad.

Pratt said that the holidays typically produce a 35 per cent spike in business, but ShipTime Inc.’s volumes have already exceeded that figure.

Kermali at eShipper echoed the sentiment.

“The business we were able to do in four weeks, we’ve done it in two.”

Click:custom clothing dance costume

Meghan Markle doesn’t have a big family, and as we all know, her father probably won’t be in the running for world’s best parent any time soon. But she’s close with her mother, Doria Ragland — and according to reports, the two might get even closer.

Depending how trustworthy you find tabloids, there is growing evidence that Ragland is preparing to move to London to be closer to Meghan, her only child. According to Express, she’s “beside herself with excitement” about the move, which will reportedly happen next month.

“She is getting ready to move to London. I think she will be going as soon as possible,” a friend of Ragland’s, who of course could not be named, apparently told Express. “She also fell in love with England and told me when she got back that it’s somewhere she believes she too could happily live.”

Another source told the paper that Meghan and her mother are “inseparable.”

It’s not impossible that a move might be coming: Ragland, 61, quit her job at an L.A. mental health clinic in May. She was a social worker focusing on geriatric patients, and also taught yoga on the side.

Of course, some people see the news about Meghan’s mom as a precursor to Meghan and Harry becoming parents themselves. “Following rumours that Meghan and Harry will start a family of their own in the near future, it makes sense that Ragland would want to be much nearer her daughter,” Harper’s Bazaar wrote. (Not to add to that speculation, or anything, but this might be a good time to point out that when they first got engaged and a BBC reporter asked them if they planned to have children, Harry said, “Of course.”)

In an essay published in Glamour last summer, Meghan cited her mother as one of the women who changed her life. She praised her mother’s “life-long sensitivity to nurturing and caregiving” as well as her “free spirit.”

“We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I’ll still find so much solace in her support,” she wrote. “That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk apparently tried (unsuccessfully) to work with Nintendo on an in-car version of Mario Kart.

On Twitter earlier today, Musk was asked about the potential of making certain games playable in Teslas. Specifically, someone asked about Mario Kart.

“How about a version of Mario Kart where you can play against random people who are also charging their car at the moment?” asked @rocketisfine.

“We tried,” replied Musk. “Nintendo won’t license it to us.”

Mario Kart isn’t the only game people want to play in their Teslas, either. Another Twitter user asked about the possibility of putting Steam in Teslas. It doesn’t sound like Tesla has looked into that yet, but Musk responded, “That would be cool.”

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The idea of playing video games in a Tesla isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem. In August, Musk announced that some classic Atari games would be made playable in Teslas. He delivered on that promise in October, and readers can watch IGN play games like Missile Command and Centipede in a Tesla.

Nick Santangelo is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. He loves video games and sports, but not sports video games. Follow him on Twitter.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Lauren Haeger’s arm and bat powered top-seeded Florida to a 4-0 winover No. 5 LSU in the first winner’s bracket game on day two of the 2015 Women’s College World Series, Thursday evening at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

For the second straight day, Haeger gave her team the lead with a home run and then held her opponents at bay in the circle. The NFCA First-Team All-American’s fifth-inning two-run long ball gave the Gators (57-6) a 2-0 lead and then she held the Tigers (51-13) to just one hit over the final three innings to earn her 12^th shutout of the season.

Box | Florida Press Quotes | LSU Press Quotes

Haeger allowed five hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter to earn her 30^th win of the season and 71^st of her career. The home run was her 18^th in 2015 and 70^th career-wise.

She wasn’t the only one who played a role in the win. UF recorded 10 hits, three from junior Kirsti Merritt (3-for-3) and two apiece from freshman Nicole DeWitt (2-for-4) and senior Aubree Munro (2-for-3). Dewitt homered and scored twice. Defensively, two key first inning plays by Taylor Fuller at third and Kathlyn Medina at shortstop erased a no-out bases loaded threat.

Before Haeger’s long ball broke the scoreless deadlock, both teams loaded the bases in the first and could not score. Florida’s Kelsey Stewart led the game off with a triple and after a strikeout the Gators had the bases full, but a pop up and a strikeout of Bailey Castro by Carly Hoover ended the threat.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Tigers first three batters singled off Haeger to load them up. However, the NFCA First-Team All-American bore down and induced two ground balls to end it, the second of which was a 6-3 tag and throw double play to end the frame.

DeWitt’s first WCWS home run and second of the season made it a 3-0 ball game in the sixth. A throwing error on a double steal closed out the scoring for the Gators. 

Hoover suffered the defeat for the Tigers. She went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Kelsee Selman closed out the game, surrendering an unearned run on two hits with a walk and strikeout.

With the win, Florida earns a day off and a trip to the semifinals on Sunday, May 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET, while LSU moves to the loser bracket and will play at 9:30 p.m.

— Photo courtesy of Gatorzone.com

Rejoice, fellow Canadians, for the day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here.

Tim Hortons has launched a rewards program after a year of testing. Consumers who join the program can have a free coffee, tea or baked good after every seventh visit — in honour of founder and NHL icon Tim Horton’s jersey number.

The coffee and tea rewards can be any size, and all baked goods except Timbits and bagels are included in the program. All visits where customers spend over 50 cents qualify for the program, but more than one visit can’t be logged in the same half hour period.

The company plans on expanding the products that can be redeemed through the Tims Rewards program going forward, according to Bloomberg.

“Tim Hortons has some of the most loyal guests in Canada and Tims Rewards allows us to say thank you,” Alex Macedo, the company’s president, said in a news release. “We heard from our guests that a new rewards program had to be easy to use and redeem, that’s why we offer both a reusable card and a digital friendly app.”

Customers who have accumulated awards can choose to use them later, and bank up to five at a time, with unused rewards expiring 120 days after being obtained, iphoneincanada.ca reported.

The company said it hoped to start a loyalty program last spring, following high-profile disputes with franchisees that shook many people’s trust in the chain.

“Ultimately why we launched this program was a reaction to the voice of our guests,” Mike Hancock, the company’s COO, told Bloomberg. “We listened to our guests and they said this is something that they wanted.”

Many of Tim Hortons’ competitors have had loyalty programs for some time — McDonalds has paper cards that customers can add stickers to that give them a free drink after they’ve accumulated seven stickers and recently expanded their program to include app functionality, while Starbucks has had its own unique card and app rewards program for years, though the company revamped their program this week to provide different reward tiers.

People interested in joining the new program can get a plastic swipe card from a Tim Hortons location, or download the newest version of the franchise’s phone app to use as a card and track how close you are to your next reward. People with iPhones or Android phones can also add a virtual card to their digital wallets to use instead.

The company says the program will also debut mobile offers and discounts going forward.

Who needs Roll-Up-The-Rim’s supposed one in six prize chances when you now have a guaranteed freebie after seven?

Although we’re still holding out for the car….