Representatives from the NHL and NHL Players' Association have met numerous times over the past eight months and not once in a secret underground bunker or a dark parking garage.

Unlike previous collective bargaining negotiations that spilled out into the public, few details are emerging from behind closed doors, a development that provides more than a little quiet optimism that hockey won't face its third work stoppage in two decades.

"It's probably the way it should be, and I think that's probably a good sign that there is some mutual respect and both sides are trying to come to agreements," Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "You have mutual dedication to keeping our game going down the same path and not disrupting that."

Players have until Sunday to decide whether to opt out of the current labor contract effective September 2020 after owners decided earlier this month not to trigger their opt-out clause. The sides met twice in the past five days to work on a CBA extension, and the fragments of reports coming out of talks suggest an environment of cooperation that is less contentious than previous negotiations.

NHLPA executive director Don Fehr described talks as cordial and pleasant. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called it joint problem-solving. That doesn't mean there aren't disagreements, but they may not be big enough to cause the cancellation of games, which is what happened in 2012-13 and 2004-05.

"This is an outgrowth of a relationship that is many years old, even with Don in hockey coming over from baseball," Bettman said. "It's a dialogue that continues. It's a relationship that's important, there's mutual respect, there's good communication flow and we're busy focused on what may for each of our constituents be the appropriate path forward."

On the job since 2010, Fehr said these talks have so far been "free from rancor" and he deemed that a big improvement. It's certainly a divergence from the past two CBA disputes in the NHL that were marred by leaks. It all leads labor expert Stephen F. Ross to infer that talks are progressing better this time around.

"The NHL has a particular history that I think would allow a, not 100 percent choice, but a relatively optimistic interpretation of silence," said Ross, director of the Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy and Research. "The fact that there's nothing public and no leaks suggests to me a high likelihood that things are going well and nobody wants to damage the good relations."

Toews and other prominent players have made it known they're not happy with some financial aspects of the CBA, namely the escrow payments connected to the 50/50 split of hockey revenues with owners. Health care and Olympic participation are also issues, though there could be other topics moving to the forefront privately.

That's no accident.

"We've been told to give the answer that we're working on it," Arizona Coyotes player representative Derek Stepan said. "Everyone's on the same page, and that's huge. I went through the one in 2012 and it seemed a little more chaotic. But this one, it seems a little more organized and guys are on the same page, and that's a huge thing."

Bettman and the owners showed a unified front in announcing they would like to maintain labor peace for the next few years because the league is healthy. It's no surprise given the owners' gains in the 2005 and 2013 agreements that they feel this way, and players were always the ones most likely to reopen this CBA to tweak some things.

Several players said the diverse, 700-plus-member NHLPA is united on what is important and how to proceed. Roughly 50 players met last week in Chicago, and there is consensus that talks are moving in the right direction.

"Just from what I've heard, everything's been really positive," Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "I try not to read into everything too much, but I think initially everything seems really good."

If players decide not to opt out, the NHL is guaranteed labor peace for at least the next three seasons with the hope the two sides can extend it longer than that. A CBA extension could still happen over the next year if players opt out, but there's no telling how that move might change negotiations.

"If they opt out, then we'll have to be focused on this at the time a little differently than we are right now," Bettman said. "I'm not going to threaten anything. I'm not going to suggest anything. We'll deal with it if that's what happens. It's their decision and I don't want to say anything that impacts that decision one way or the other. It'll be what it'll be."

Ross said Fehr, who was the longtime head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, is a master at playing the chess match of preparing for and weighing various scenarios in bargaining talks. He's not showing his hand on which way the NHLPA might be leaning.

"Guys understand the importance of this and what's coming up, they're informed and we're on the same page," said Ryan O'Reilly, whose St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup last season. "There's stuff going on, and hopefully it gets solved the right way."

Germany beat hosts Northern Ireland 2-0 on Monday to get their Euro 2020 qualification on track as they bounced back from last week's loss to the Netherlands in Group C.

Defender Marcel Halstenberg drilled the ball in three minutes after the restart following a lacklustre first half by the Germans, who lost 4-2 at home to the Dutch on Friday, and Serge Gnabry added another goal in second-half stoppage time.

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The result put Germany top on 12 points from five games, ahead on goal difference of Northern Ireland, who suffered their first loss of the campaign as captain Steven Davis became their most capped outfield player with 113 appearances.

The third-placed Netherlands, 4-0 winners away to Estonia on Monday, are on nine points from four matches.

"We were under pressure to win after Friday's result and we had to overcome some obstacles in the first half," Germany coach Joachim Low told reporters. "The Northern Irish attacked early and disrupted our game. After the break we did it better."

The Germans, missing half a dozen injured players, seemed to lack a clear game plan in the first half with plenty of passing but struggling to find ways to open up the Irish defence.

Low's young team, looking to recover from last year's shock first-round World Cup exit and Nations League relegation, have not had enough match practice and it showed.

"We had never played before with this lineup," Low said. "So we will need some patience because this a learning process."

Conor Washington had a golden chance to put the hosts ahead in the seventh minute when he pounced on a rare Toni Kroos mistake but fired straight at charging goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Timo Werner had the visitors' best chance before the break but his close-range effort was saved by Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Germany looked to be feeling the effects of Friday's loss with the Irish working hard to stifle their attacks early.

"We managed to stop them building the game and got joy off pressing and winning the ball higher up the pitch," the hosts' coach Michael O'Neill told Sky.

"It's very difficult to do that against this level of opposition. I'm proud of what they gave."

Halstenberg eventually settled German nerves, timing his half-volley to perfection as he angled Julian Brandt's cross into the far corner just after the break.

They should have scored again in a scintillating start to the second half but instead had to wait until deep into stoppage for Gnabry to make sure of the three points.

SAN ANTONIO -- Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is tipping Mexico to be a world power in the near future and heaped praise on Gerardo "Tata" Martino ahead of the friendly between the two at the Alamodome.

Mexico comes into the game off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over the United States last Friday, while Argentina drew 0-0 against Chile the day before.

"We're taking on a team that has quality and that, for me, will be soon be one of the best," said Scaloni in a news conference, adding that Martino brings a "winning mentality" to El Tri."They have shown they have great players and a very clear playing style.

"It's a test for us, a good measure for the players I've brought in to see how they respond to the situation in the conditions, with Mexico practically the home team."

Scaloni played with former Argentina national team head coach Martino at Newell's Old Boys and looked up to him when he was coming up through the ranks at the club, with the game against Mexico the first time he'll go up against him as a coach.

"For me, he was the idol of the club and he still is, logically," said Scaloni. "He was a very important player. He was an important reference point. He has a very clear idea [of how to play] and it's very important for us to play against not just 'Tata,' but this Mexico national team that I believe and I'm totally sure would be a very difficult challenge for any national team in the world.

"It's a team that has players that are among the best and it'll be difficult."

Martino, for his part, called his former side one of the "world's powers."

"Argentina, even though they've not won a title in some time, is one pedestal above [Mexico]," Martino said. "That doesn't mean that tomorrow we have less chance; we have the highest expectations in terms of the performance we want to see and in getting the right result."

Martino added that he doesn't believe his nationality and his previous position gets in the way of his work with Mexico.

"I can't change what I've always thought: the fact it's a game of football between countries doesn't bring [my] nationality into play," said Martino. "I work in Mexico, I try to do the best for Mexico. And if I do represent Argentina it's through my work, seriousness and honesty. When you work abroad that's the best way to represent the country."

Scaloni will be making changes from the side that played Chile and said that "logically the squad would be different" if the team was thinking only about the result as La Albiceleste -- who are missing Lionel Messi due to suspension -- undergoes a generational change.

Scaloni was confirmed as Argentina's head coach last November and made it clear that he doesn't view the team recent's recent past as a failure, despite not winning a major trophy since 1990.

"From 2012-13 until 2016-17 Argentina played three finals," he said. "That could've meant [winning] Copa Americas and a World Cup. It's a very fine line. If Argentina had won the World Cup, we wouldn't be saying this.

"Saying that Argentina failed is complicated. And two [of the finals] were [lost on] penalties."

Former England opening batsmen Andrew Strauss and Geoffrey Boycott have been awarded knighthoods.

The pair were chosen for the award by former Prime Minister Theresa May as she stepped down from office.

Strauss' award will surprise few. As England captain, he led the Test team to the No. 1 world ranking and a long-awaited Ashes victory in Australia in 2010-11. Then, as director of the men's team, he implemented the strategy that resulted in England winning the World Cup earlier this year.

Strauss also harnessed his family's grief at the tragic death of his wife from cancer at the end of 2018 to set up the Ruth Strauss Foundation. It has already raised huge sums to combat rare forms of lung cancer, with the Ruth Strauss Foundation Day - marked for the first time at the Ashes Test this year - set to be a feature of future Lord's Tests. Strauss is 42 years old and has two sons.

The knighthood of Boycott is, perhaps, more controversial. While his pedigree as a cricketer is impeccable - only four men have scored more than his 151 first-class centuries and he was, for a while, the leading Test run scorer - he was, in 1998, convicted in France of assaulting a former girlfriend and received a fine and suspended sentence. He has always maintained his innocence.

In recent years, Boycott has suffered from both cancer and undergone heart surgery. He is 78 years old but continues to be a write a must-read column in the Telegraph and provide insightful, unvarnished views on the BBC's Test Match Special (TMS).

May, a lifelong cricket lover, was fast-tracked to MCC membership last year and, like her predecessor John Major, spent the time immediately after she stepped down as PM watching England play cricket. She has previously appeared as a guest on TMS where she confessed to her deep admiration of Boycott's determination.

Despite these turbulent political times, there may be some support for his award from both sides of the House of Commons. Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, is always known to be an ardent admirer and once commented that the first thing he would do upon being appointed Prime Minister would be to offer Boycott a knighthood.

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Alabama's administration isn't pleased that the Sept. 21 football game against Southern Mississippi will be played at 11 a.m. local time, when temperatures are routinely in excess of 90 degrees this time of year.

University President Stuart R. Bell and athletic director Greg Byrne issued a joint statement on the heels of last weekend's 3 p.m. kickoff against New Mexico State, when the heat index was upward of 105 degrees. Cooling stations were set up throughout Bryant-Denny Stadium, but in the second half many fans began clearing out, especially those in sections not shaded from the sun.

"We are disappointed that our game against Southern Miss has been selected as a daytime kickoff at home," the statement from Bell and Byrne read. "We realize we've played more non-conference day games at home in September than any other SEC team since 2014. There have been a number of conversations with our conference office, and they also recognize the challenges these kick times present for our student-athletes and fans."

Alabama played three home games last September, two of which were at 2:30 p.m. and the other was at 11 a.m.

Earlier on Monday, coach Nick Saban began his weekly news conference by acknowledging the heat inside Bryant-Denny Stadium against New Mexico State.

"One thing I would like to say is I know it was a difficult day for our fans because of the circumstances surrounding the weather and I'd like to thank the fans for supporting the team and a lot of people hanging in there to try to support the team," he said. "I think the players really appreciate it. We know it was a difficult circumstance for a lot of folks, and hopefully our administration will continue to work to try to play some of these games at a different time."

But Saban's statement struck a noticeably different tone from that of his postgame comments following the 62-10 win over New Mexico State, when he said how a full stadium enhances the "value of our program" and how recruits "want to see a full house."

"So everybody's got to make a sacrifice," Saban said on Saturday. "You want to be the lion? Everybody got to do something. Everybody wants to be No. 1. If I asked that whole student section, do you want to be No. 1? Nobody would hold their hand up and say I want to be No. 4. They would all say No. 1. But are they willing to do everything to be No. 1? That's another question. You can ask them that. I don't know the answer."

Alabama has tried to entice students into staying longer by using a phone application that tracks location and rewards Tide Loyalty Points: 100 per game for attending a home football game and 250 per game for staying all four quarters. The points can be used toward priority access to student football tickets.