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WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says opponent Hillary Clinton and other Democrats are trying to rig the fall debates by scheduling two of the events opposite NFL games. The football league has complained to him about the debate schedule in a letter, the billionaire says.The NFL and the Commission on Presidential Debates on Saturday rejected both of Trumps assertions.A spokesman for the NFL said the football league didnt send such a letter to Trump. The independent, nonpartisan commission said that no political party or campaign was consulted when the dates were selected last year.Late Friday night, Trump posted a tweet: As usual, Hillary & the Dems are trying to rig the debates so 2 are up against major NFL games. Same as last time w/ Bernie. Unacceptable!In an interview with ABCs This Week for its program Sunday, Trump was asked if he would accept the commissions debate schedule. He replied: Well, Ill tell you what I dont like. Its against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, `This is ridiculous. Why are the debates against -- `cause the NFL doesnt wanna go against the debates. `Cause the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, OK?Asked about Trumps assertion, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy tweeted on Saturday: While wed obviously wish the Debate Commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr Trump.Following the NFLs denial that a letter had been sent to Trump, a Trump aide said the Republican candidate was made aware of the conflicting dates by a source close to the league. The aide was not authorized to speak by name and requested anonymity.Two of the three debates scheduled in September and October will be televised during NFL games. On Sept. 26, the night of the first debate, ESPN will carry the Monday night game featuring the Falcons vs. the Saints. On Oct. 9, the second debate will air opposite the Sunday night game featuring the Giants vs. the Packers on NBC.I dont know how the dates were picked. I dont know why those particular dates, Trump told ABC.The Democratic Party was criticized during the primary race for scheduling debates between Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday nights and holiday weekends, times when viewership is low. The Sanders campaign suggested that was an effort to limit the size of the audience.Trump told ABC: You know, Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL. She doesnt -- maybe like she did with Bernie Sanders, where they were on Saturday nights when nobodys home.The presidential debate commission serves as the event sponsor and sets the participation criteria, dates, sites and formats. The sites and dates for the 2016 debates were announced in September 2015.The CPD did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions, the commission said in a statement issued Saturday.The Clinton campaign did not immediately comment on Trumps assertions.In the ABC interview, Trump did allow that three debates were fine and that hed rather have three than one.---AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in Springfield, New Jersey, and AP writers Jonathan Lemire in New York and Lisa Lerer in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.---This story has been corrected to show that Trumps tweet was posted Friday night, not Saturday. Air Max 720 Baratas Rebajas . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. 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CHICAGO -- This is the genius of Joe Maddon:Next week, all four of his infielders will start for the National League at the All-Star Game, a trick no team has turned since the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals. Yet when those Cubs return to Wrigley Field next Friday to face the Pirates, two of them -- Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist -- could wind up starting in the outfield. They might not be the only ones playing a different position.If you want to know what separates Chicago from the handful of other title contenders at midseason, versatility is a good place to start. And that starts with Maddon.Ive always been about that, he said recently.Maddon has never been shy about testing his players skill sets, either, because hes always challenging himself. He could write a book about turning the tables on decades of received baseball wisdom and whats hes learned along the way. But on this day he limits himself to a list of benefits a manager gets having guys who can play multiple positions: reacting to in-game changes is easier; you can carry an extra pitcher if you need to; more flexibility in scheduling rest days; and it keeps everyone on their toes.But he saves the best argument for the end of his pitch. Its the same one Maddon employs to stick a toe outside his own comfort zone, and how hes talked a few dozen grown men into donning pajamas for charter flights home from West Coast road trips.And the last point, he summed up, is they love it.Most of the time, anyway.A week earlier, in a 15-inning marathon at Cincinnati, Maddon used three pitchers in the field in the same game for the first time in a century or more. Reliever Pedro Strop, the third pitcher to enter, was in the Cubs bullpen that inning when the phone rang, but he knew better than to assume anything.You never know with Joe, he said. The guys not afraid do anything. ... So I was almost kind of ready for that, because I was the only extra player we got.But the other one? Man, he continued. I was like, `Whoa.That was a year ago, just ahead of the midsummer break with the Dodgers in town. The Cubs were already struggling with a manpower shortage in that same infield.Bryant, the third baseman, was wilting in the heat of his first big-league season and Maddon was trying to give him a day off. That plan fell through when shortstop Starlin Castro -- since traded to the Yankees -- headed off to the hospital for the birth of his second baby. It also forced Maddon to move Addison Russell from second to short and pencil in his only other healthy infielder, reserve Johnny Herrera, at second.Thats when Strop noticed the manager eyeing him.Joe comes over and says to me, `So, what position can you play better? he recalled.ddddddddddddtrop has been a pitcher since he broke into the majors in 2009, but hed played more than 200 games at shortstop in the Rockies minor league system before a weak bat convinced him to try throwing off a mound. The prospect of a cameo back at shortstop both tantalized and terrified him -- exactly the response Maddon was looking for.But then Starlin drove back from the hospital, Strop recalled, chuckling at the memory.No matter. Point made.Maddon came by the philosophy while working on his managerial chops as an assistant in the Angels organization and then as the boss in Tampa Bay. In both organizations, he saw talented ballplayers capable of contributing stuck in place because the guy in front of them had the position locked down. Maddons first convert to make a splash was Zobrist in Tampa Bay, who eventually mastered four positions, joined him in Chicago this season and will play second base in the All-Star Game.Bryant, who will start at third, has played three different positions in the same regular-season game. Russell, who didnt become a full-time shortstop until after the midseason break in 2015, will start there in the All-Star Game. And Maddon has already convinced rookie Willson Contreras, who was drafted as a catcher, to try left field and first base during his first month in the majors.A few lockers down, Albert Almora Jr., another highly touted rookie, wondered whether hed get the talk. Hes played center field since being called up June 7 from the Triple-A Iowa club, and hasnt received any further instructions from Maddon.I watch him when Im not playing and it seems like hes three, four moves ahead of the game, Almora said. So hes not afraid to try things, even with the rookies. Just about the first thing he said is he doesnt care if you mess up. ...Like if youre in a situation where you think you should bunt, and he says hit and it doesnt work out, hell come up to you right away and say, `Thats on me, he added. He doesnt just say have fun, he shows you how. That means a lot to a young player.Another few lockers over, 39-year-old David Ross, a backup catcher playing his final season, offers the last word on his smooth-talking, sometimes-zany manager.Too many guys want to equate smarts with being uptight, Ross said. Joe doesnt. He just says, `Do simple better.---This story has been corrected to show the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals had four starting infielders at All-Star Game. ' ' '