(STATS) -- Theyre surrounded by reminders all year long, whether its in a trophy case or in the talk that goes with their programs historical level of success.The four teams in this years FCS semifinals, James Madison will play at North Dakota State Friday night and Youngstown State goes to Eastern Washington on Saturday, have all won an FCS national title previously.The only other year that has happened since the playoff system began in 1978 was in 2006, with Massachusetts, Montana, Youngstown State and eventual champion Appalachian State.The coaches and players from the semifinalists understand they are in special programs, and share a need to maintain the high standards.Number one, its not anything that we had hid from or backed down from since the first day I got here, James Madisons first-year coach Mike Houston said Monday. The first day that I was introduced as the head football coach at James Madison, I made the statement that our goal was to perennially contend for the CAA championship and to be a presence at the national level and to compete for a national championship. Certainly thats the expectation that I had coming in here, I think its the expectation of all of our players within our program.North Dakota State has won the last five FCS titles, one shy of Georgia Southerns record six. Youngstown State won four FCS titles in the 1990s (1991, 93, 94 and 97). James Madison captured the 2004 national title and Eastern Washington did the same in 2010.James Madison is appearing in the playoffs for the 13th time, while Eastern Washington and Youngstown State are both making their 12th appearances. North Dakota State, which moved to Division I in 2004 and became playoff-eligible in 09, is in the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.I think if you look at it for this year, NDSU coach Chris Klieman said, I believe the best four teams are left.North Dakota State, Eastern Washington and James Madison are seeded 1, 2 and 4, respectively, and each is 12-1. Youngstown State is unseeded and 11-3.The semifinal-round winners will meet in the national championship game Jan. 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. China Wholesale Air Jordan . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Cheap Air Jordans Shoes Wholesale . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. http://www.discountairjordan.com/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Cheap Air Jordans Free Shipping . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Discount Jordans Free Shipping . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. This is time of season when under-the-radar players have ample opportunity to make up ground in the rankings or establish some momentum heading into the next year.For Caroline Wozniacki and a couple of precocious ATP stars, they did both. Here are a few notable items that resonated with our cache of tennis writers this past week:@CarlBialik: A month ago, Caroline Wozniacki had a career résumé most players would envy: 23 career titles, two major finals and 67 weeks at No. 1 (more than Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams).But Wozniacki had never beaten two top-10 players in two successive tournaments. Now she has, with two such wins on her way to the US Open semifinals earlier this month and two more on her way to the Tokyo title last week. The championship gave Wozniacki 24 career titles.There was no particular reason to expect Wozniacki to create career highlights heading into the US Open. She was ranked 74th in the world and hadnt reached a quarterfinal in six months and hadnt beaten a top-10 player in 11 months. Further, she hadnt won a tournament in 18 months.But Wozniacki was starting to feel healthy again, and her good form coincided with her best major, where she reached the final in New York in 2009 and 2014.Now Wozniackis comeback is on an accelerated schedule. She beat Samantha Stosur in Wuhan on Monday -- the Danes fifth top-20 win in a month after scoring just one in the prior 11 months. Wozniacki could return to the top 20 herself with a few more wins.Win another title this week, Wozniacki has a chance to qualify for the WTA Finals. The last time she got there, in 2014, she won three matches and came within two points of upsetting Serena Williams. Wozniacki might be playing even better tennis today.@ptbodo:?Lucas Pouille did some fair racket work this past weekend. He won the first ATP Tour title of his career at Metz, France. In the final, he knocked off Dominic Thiem.Pouille was playing against a generational rival -- and a player in Thiem who, with justification, has always been more highly touted. Thiem already has four ATP titles this year alone.Pouille is the No. 2-ranked player in the under-23 category behind Nick Kyrgios. And while his game isnt as flashy, it is no less explosive. And Pouilles temperament is in an entirely different league. Hes savvy, self-controlled and good under pressure.Growing up, Pouille admired Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I didnt copy the way they played, Pouille told the ATP communications staff. But I tried to emulate their attitude on the court and their mental strength.ddddddddddddPouille demonstrated those qualities as he made the quarterfinals at the last two majors of the year. At Wimbledon, he knocked off Juan Martin del Potro. At the US Open, he upset No. 5 Nadal in the fourth-round.The win against Thiem was Pouilles fifth over a top-10 opponent this year -- and his 30th overall. Pouille did benefit from a home-court advantage of sorts: French players have won Metz seven of the past eight years.@mattwilansky: Its not easy to create buzz this time of year on the tennis circuit, but Alexander Zverev did just that Sunday. One of the highly touted up-and-comers, Zverev upset US Open champ?Stan Wawrinka?6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the final of the St. Petersburg Open.Zverev, a flashy 19-year-old from Germany, has been the centerpiece of a next generation of stars. Hes 6-foot-6 with an stout all-court game. At No. 24, hes the youngest player in the top 50. His triumph Sunday was his first career title.Talented as Zverev is, his win has to come as a major surprise given his red-hot opponent. Wawrinka had been riding a 10-match winning streak, which included his run in New York. The Swiss, arguably the best big-game player at the moment, had won his past 11 finals.Even more stunning, Wawrinka was up 3-0 in the final set before succumbing.Zverev summed up his performance succinctly and accurately afterward, telling the media: This victory is something special.@natkinESPN: It speaks to Andy Murrays character that he is already thinking about his legacy while in the prime of his career. Aside from trying to win more titles, Murray told the British media he will try to leverage his weight in bringing an ATP Tour 250 event to Glasgow, where he launched an annual charity exhibition event at the SSE Hydro last week.This comes as a slice of good news, as Murrays mother, Judy, has voiced concerns, saying Scotland is failing to capitalize on the buzz and opportunity created by her two sons.Just ￡800,000 is allocated to Scotland from the Lawn Tennis Associations ￡64 million annual budget, a paltry amount given how much Andy and Jamie Murray -- both three-time Grand Slam champions in singles and doubles, respectively -- have contributed to highlighting the sport.More tennis courts must be built in working-class areas of Scotland -- there are none in the east end of Glasgow for instance -- or the risk of losing the next generation of British tennis talent is high. ' ' '