New A-League boss Greg ORourke says expansion of the competition is inevitable and needs to happen sooner rather than later.Former Football NSW chairman ORourke was unveiled as Damien De Bohuns replacement by Football Federation Australia (FFA) on Thursday.Also a former operations director of PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand, ORourke is tasked with increasing the leagues commercial performance against the backdrop of negotiations for a crucial new broadcast deal.He said the top priority when he starts next month would be improving the financial security of all 10 existing clubs.Then he hopes to make the competition bigger to capture the excitement of fans and give other markets across Australia and New Zealand renewed hope they too can have a club to cheer for.I think an expansion of the number of teams is inevitable, and its exactly the right thing to do, ORourke said.The first step is to actually make sure the 10 teams we currently have are sustainable and can stand on their own feet.Theres no use in bringing new teams into a competition where some existing teams are still shaky.Once achieved ORourke said new clubs should be added sooner rather than later.Im not talking about next season necessarily, but that would be one of the primary things to focus on, he said.Id like to think its going to happen inside my tenure.To lay the foundations, ORourke will set about building relationships with clubs, an aspect somewhat strained during De Bohuns tenure.Part of that will be correcting the number of things wrong with the current approach to converting footballs massive participation numbers into A-League fans.My background is that I build relationships and they work, he said.Theres a lot more similarities between the corporate world and the football world than differences.Most people just want to be heard, most people want to be respected and want you to align to their brand.Theres no use FFA having a strategy thats not aligned with the clubs, and the clubs not being aligned to what the fans want.FFA chief executive David Gallop said ORourke possessed a unique blend of financial and leadership experience and a love of the game, evidenced through previous roles as Football NSW chairman and president of Sutherland Shire Football Association.It was why he got the job ahead of numerous other applicants including experienced overseas administrators running European leagues, marketing and TV executives and senior figures within the AFL and NRL.Its understood Perth chief executive Peter Filopoulos was also in the running.People who had run leagues or are running leagues overseas obviously had an appeal to us as well because of the direct parallel, Gallop said.But understanding the Australian sporting and corporate landscape, and appreciating were in a competitive environment, meant a local candidate came out on top. 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NEW YORK -- Connor McDavid hit the ice, chin first, and a concussion spotter at least played a part in pulling him from the game.The Edmonton Oilers captain and budding star was not stunned by the jarring trip to the ice, but that someone watching him play recently against Minnesota determined he should be evaluated for a concussion.A few days later, McDavid still wasnt happy he missed the last several minutes of the second period against the Wild before being cleared to play in the third in a game the Oilers lost in overtime.It happened at an important time of the game and it could happen at even worse times, McDavid said Tuesday. You know, what if its overtime or its a playoff push or its late in the third period and stuff like that? I think they definitely have to take that into consideration.Welcome to the NHLs latest attempt to keep players healthy -- at least above the shoulders -- as they get bigger and faster and the stakes get higher on the ice and in court.I think its a good thing, Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik said. Unfortunately, I think litigation is what finally brought it to this.The NHL is facing a class-action lawsuit over head injuries suffered by former players alleging the league had resources to do a better job preventing head trauma.This season, the league has touted enhanced changes to its concussion protocol, including adding a staff of nationally certified athletic trainers with hockey experience to monitors games on TV from NHL headquarters in New York with the power to remove players from games.Two months in, the NHL has declined to say how many players have been pulled off the ice by the anonymous spotters, nor is it detailing their diagnosis rate.The truth is, it may be tricky to track who makes the call when a player is called off the ice. Is it a spotter at league headquarters? An in-arena spotter? The medical staff behind the benches?And even with all those layers of observation, some concussions slip through the cracks and simply arent diagnosed during a game.Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist provides a recent example.Hornqvist wasnt spotted by anyone remotely or up close in Washington on Nov. 16 for a possible concussion, but recalled telling the teams trainer he felt a little off, after the game and went through testing to determine if he had a concussion.dddddddddddd He did get diagnosed with a concussion and was out for two weeks, but he doesnt blame anyone for missing signs during the game.You probably get hit every single shift, so they cant take you out after every single shift, Hornqvist said.Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, meanwhile, said he doubts hell play another shift of hockey. Franzen has not played since Oct. 10, 2015, because multiple concussions -- perhaps 10 of them, he said -- have affected his vision, given him headaches and made him so tired he has slept for two or three straight days.I think having spotters is a step in the right direction, but theres almost too much pressure on them and its only going to get worse in the playoffs, said Franzen, who had 18 postseason points in 2008 when he helped the Red Wings win their last Stanley Cup. When one of the best players gets taken out of the game, he, the coach and the GM may not like it. I do think its better for the players, but I dont have all the answers.STAY OR GOThe NHLs board of governors is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Florida. The group is expected to discuss its possible participation in the 2018 Olympics. The NHL Players Association recently rejected the leagues offer to agree to a deal to allow the worlds best hockey players to go for gold in South Korea in exchange for extending the collective bargaining agreement through 2025.SCOTT FREEThe NHL announced Montreals Carey Price, Chicagos Patrick Kane, Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby and McDavid were leading their divisions in votes by fans for the All-Star Game. The league released the top five players in each division and none of them seems to be an out-of-place journeyman like John Scott, who was voted into last years game as a lark. Scott ended up being the All-Star MVP in part because he played despite objections he said he got from the NHL.GAME OF THE WEEKThe Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks host the New York Rangers on Friday night. The Rangers are tied with Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division.---AP Hockey Writers John Wawrow, Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writer Will Graves contributed to this report. ' ' '