You can scratch the Eastern Division and Western Division from your Legion baseball map.

For the next two years, at least, regular-season standings are going to carry a lot of weight in qualifying for the state Class ALegion tournament.

In 2008, Class ALegion baseball in North Dakota is going to mean one all-encompassing 11-team league. Each team is scheduled for 20 league games, two against each of the other 10 Class Ateams.

The top five in the 11-team league qualify for the state tourney in Minot, with the other six playing a double-elimination tournament for the final three state berths.

The format was adopted by the state AmericanLegion athletic committee in November.

Actually, the five qualifying teams are also scheduled to play a tournament prior to state for seeding purposes.

The two tournaments are scheduled for Williston and Jamestown, with the sites to be based on the teams involved.

In theory, either the seeding or qualifying tournament could be played at a site without a host team.

Ron Frydenlund of Jamestown, a member of the state Legion athletic committee, said the tried and true divisional format was abandoned when ValleyCity dropped from Class Ato Class B. That left the Eastern Division with five teams and the Western Division with six.

"Eleven teams is a little unwieldy," Frydenlund said. "… One other time we had 11 (Class A)teams and we tried an 11-team state tournament, Ithink it was in 1996 and 1997. Nobody liked that."

Devils Lake coach Tyler Knutson came up with the seeding tourney-qualifying tourney solution, according to Frydenlund.

"Everyone seems to like this business of playing everyone and having one state conference,"Frydenlund said. "And why not with 11 teams?"

Frydenlund said there are obvious matchups - Bismarck and Mandan, Minot and Williston, Fargo and West Fargo -where teams will want to schedule four games. They can do that, but only two of the games will count in the state standings.

Each of the 11 teams will have five home and five road league doubleheaders.

Frydenlund said the Knutson Plan will get a two-year trial.

"We'll look at it after two years and if we have any problems we'll have to do something with it,"Frydenlund said.

Frydenlund said the Knutson Plan shouldn't affect teams' schedules. Last summer, each Class A team played 10 divisional dates. This summer they'll still play 10 league dates.

"Idon't think it will have an effect. My schedule (at Jamestown) is 55 to 60 games and I think Fargo has almost 80 games," he said.

The state Class Atournament is scheduled for Aug. 6-10 at Corbett Field in Minot. Minot is also the host team in the CentralPlains RegionTournament, which opens Aug. 14.