A class action lawsuit launched against the Canadian Hockey League alleges its players are underpaid and seeks millions in financial compensation. Cheap Jordans Shoes Free Shipping .The suit claims players have been paid less than the minimum wage required by law in their regions and asks for $180 million in back wages, overtime and vacation pay, as well as punitive damages.The CHL is the umbrella organization for the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It touts itself as the top development league for the NHL.There are 60 teams in the CHL stretching from Victoria to Halifax as well as eight teams based in the United States. More than 1,300 players ranging from age 16 to 20 play in the CHLs leagues, which comprise both privately owned and community-owned clubs. Teams such as the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings are owned by the NHL team in their respective cities.The lawsuit is the latest labour shot across the major junior hockeys bow. An attempt to unionize major junior players stalled in 2012, but Canadas largest private sector union Unifor expressed interest in July in representing the players in the future.A statement of claim filed last Friday in Ontario court alleges that if players want to participate in these leagues, they must sign contracts paying them a weekly fee between $35 and $125 per week with no set hourly wage, overtime, vacation or holiday pay.The lawsuit cites OHL players as examples, saying they devote 35 to 40 hours to a team and receive $50 a week on average.None of the allegations have been proven in court.The crux of the lawsuit isnt whether the players are professional or amateur, but whether they are employees of their teams or independent contractors.The big question is whether the players are employees within the meaning of minimum-age legislation across the country versus an independent contractor, said Toronto lawyer Ted Charney, who is representing the players. If the judge hearing the class action decides theyre employees, in my opinion, there is a breach of legislation across the country.CHL commissioner David Branch counters the players are neither employees nor independent contractors.Theyre amateur student-athletes, Branch said in an interview Monday. Well certainly vigorously defend ourselves because this could not only in our view have a negative effect on hockey in Canada, but through all sports in which amateur student-athletes are involved.Charney disagrees with the Branchs description of the players.Its hardly an amateur league, Charney said. The league is in the business of making profits, which they do, significant profits off the services provided by the players who get basically zilch in terms of services.Normally an amateur athlete plays a sport for a university or a school and they have amateur standing and the school or university doesnt compensate them for their services. Here theyre actually getting a fee. The problem with the fee is its not minimum wage.Branch says the CHL paid out more than $6 million in post-secondary scholarships to 579 players last season.We have an education program unmatched in amateur sport, he said. We believe its the best scholarship program in North America. Weve invested for the player in extensive health and safety programs, anti-doping and drug education.We are into developing and executing a mental health program in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association to support our players. In addition to that while playing in our league, all their expenses are covered — equipment, billeting, travel costs and so forth.Former OHL player Sam Berg is the one named plaintiff in the suit. The son of former Toronto Maple Leaf Bill Berg says the OHLs Niagara IceDogs breached the player agreement he signed in August 2013.Berg played eight games for the IceDogs. He was sent to a Junior B team in October 2013, was injured and quit hockey. Now a university student, Berg contends he is owed both back pay as well as a the post-secondary scholarship as set out in the contract.Charney encouraged current and former players to register on a website to be part of the class action, but acknowledged current players may be afraid to do so.At the moment, current players have been very hesitant to come forward because they feel it will impact their ability to play on their team and their relationship with the league and their potential to be drafted into the professional hockey leagues, he said. Theyve been very reluctant to come forward as the lead plaintiffs in this class action.We anticipate now that the case has started, some of the players will register with us and give us their information which we will keep confidential.Its very hard to participate in a lawsuit against your employer while youre still working for them. Thats an element of this case that will be a challenge, but the way it works in class actions is everybody who is in the class action gets the benefit of the result unless they opt out of the class action.Branch would not address the impact on CHL teams if they were required to pay players minimum wage.I wouldnt even want to comment in that area, he said. Wholesale Jordans China . They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Air Jordan From China . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. http://www.cheapairjordanfreeshipping.com/ . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring.TSN football analyst Chris Schultz breaks down all the teams and each division in the NFL leading up to the regular season. Next up, the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants of the NFC East. Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles will win the division because as the 2013 season progressed they definitely improved. In the first half of the season they went 3-5. In the second half, 7-1. Yes, teams will adapt to the speed and tempo that a Chip Kelly team plays with but now starting his second year that speed and tempo with just get faster, quicker and more polished. Jason Peters to me is the best left tackle in the business, but it is much more than him. The Eagles have the best five "big athletes" in football with Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Todd Herremans and the No. 1 pick from last year, Lane Johnson. They as a group move exceptionally well in all facets of offensive line play and have to in order to keep up with LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles. It is amazing to think that Sproles was abandoned in New Orleans for a fifth-round draft pick. But at 31 I imagine it was anticipated a "performance regression" would happen but I can see it myself. Sproles will help in the return game, especially on kick-off returns in a big way. Philadelphia doesnt know what it has on defence just yet. There are questions about the secondary and if they are satisfied by the pass rush - otherwise they would not have drafted Marcus Smith out of Louisville as their top pick. Still, what has changed the organization around and maybe was the biggest surprise of last year was quarterback Nick Foles from the University of Arizona. We all know it, he had 27 touchdowns against only two interceptions - a staggering ratio of success over failure. With Foles what is surprising was the calmness under pressure. It just seemed natural and normal to be really good at difficult moments. The only game where he got rattled - and I mean physically - was game seven last year in a 17-3 loss to Dallas at home. That was followed by a Giants loss at home again and a 3-5 record. Then the Oakland game where they put up 49 points and seven touchdown passes. That was a turning point. Certain cities are tougher to play in then others because of the intensity of the local media coverage. Philadelphia is one of those tough cities. Foles handled everything extremely well and there is no reason for him not to be able to handle it all extremely well again. The way Chip Kelly runs his team, practices and runs off-season procedures is a bit different. You could say its the opposite of a traditional approach of a Tom Coughlin, yet it works. And consider he took over from Andy Reid who had run the course but was a very popular figure in Philadelphia. A lot will depend on a duplication of efficiency but having Nick Foles makes success possible, and showing an improvement on defence - specifically pass defence which finished 32nd-best - again makes success very possible. Another first place finish in the NFC East becomes very possible and very likely. Eagles, first in the NFC West. Washington Redskins The most obvious comment to be made about Redskin success or failure is that it all revolves around Robert Griffin III and his relationship with new head coach Jay Gruden. While this is true I wonder if RG3 shouldnt look over his shoulder and see Kirk Cousins creeping up on him as a viable alternative. Griffin is the better quarterback and a much more spectacular pivot. But he must stay healthy and improve because that is what Cousins has done - stayed healthy and improved. Yes, Gruden will help RG3 reach his potential but the motivation comes from the presence of his own teammate over his shoulder in Cousins. I thought this last year and I still think it this year, that Alfred Morris is the most important player with the Redskins. He is not a home run hitter type of running back, quite the opposite. He is a grinder that gets first downs or creates manageable distances by getting four yards on first down. All the publicity is around Redskins receivers and rightfully so. DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Santana Moss and Andre Roberts with Jordan Reed at tight end give RG3 deep, intermediate and shallow options but if third-year player Morris plays as he has then the Redskins roll. On defence, signing Ryan Clark at free safety may also be of major benefit. A quarterback leads an offence but a safety leads a defence. Clark has 12 years of NFL experience and has played against every NFL offence there is. And he did it beside Troy Polamalu who played his own game so effectively as Clark adjusted. One of the great middle linebackers in football of all time, London Fletcher retired and a leadership void was created. Clark should fill that void. When the Redskins picked up Jackson they strengtheened their team and weakened an opponent, the Eagles. Wholesale Jordans. . When the Redskins signed Jason Hatcher they strengthened their team and weakened another opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. Both are effective moves that will make a difference. The bottom line is that Year 3 for every NFL player is critical. By then the organization knows what it has in a player, whether that player will continue to improve or stay the same. Also at the end of Year 3 you are in position to renegotiate and sign your second contract and that is where the "for life" money comes into play. This is Year 3 for Robert Griffin and he first must stay healthy and second put his team in the playoffs, or at least ridiculously close to them. With all the ability in the world and good players around him you have to feel optimistic that this is the year. Redskins finish second in the NFC East. Dallas Cowboys Since 1996 the Cowboys won-lost record is 136-136. In the last four seasons it is 30-34. And in each of the last three seasons they have gone 8-8 with a season-ending playoff "win and in" game that Dallas did not win. So is this the year to go from average to great, from building to dominating? On offence I would say yes. As a starting group of 12 if they can stay healthy they are as talented as any Cowboy team in history. They have maybe the best young left tackle in the league in Tyron Smith and excellent depth across the front. Travis Frederick at centre has lived up to expectations. Theres great experience at tight end and more depth. Dez Bryant changes his game in a single play and DeMarco Murray changes games when he hits 100. On offence the Dallas Cowboys are as good as any top NFL team. But can they stay healthy? Tony Romo has had his second back surgery in an eight-month period. Murray played in only nine games last season. And in a major setback, middle linebacker Sean Lee, who is probably their toughest player, will miss another year of football. With the ball this is a great team, without the ball they are in trouble. First the suspension of Orlando Scandrick throws the secondary into a mess. There are also without the departed Jason Hatcher and DeMarcus Ware which creates a void on the defensive line. Also, in 2014 the Cowboys will start not only their third offensive coordinator but also their third defensive coordinator. Continuity wins, not consistent change. This defensive issue is so critical when you consider the quarterbacks that Dallas faces this year. It starts with Colin Kaepernick in Week 1, Drew Brees in Week 4, Russell Wilson in Week 6, Nick Foles in Week 13, Jay Cutler in Week 14 and Andrew Luck in Week 16. To think Dallas is going to outscore all those quarterbacks and offences is unrealistic. Dallas would need two or three players on defence to become top players in one season. A pass rusher, a linebacker, and a defensive back. They have a trio of excellence on offence, but too many unknowns on defence. Dallas finished third in the NFC East. New York Giants I think the Giants could finish anywhere from second to fourth in the NFC East. I think they could finish second because I seriously doubt that Eli Manning will have a touchdown to interception ratio of 18 to 27. I think they will finish fourth because nine different Giants are now with different teams and one retired. And outside of Oakland the Giants spent $116 million on 10 other players to create immediate success. I do think the Giants drafted well. Watch out for the fourth pick Andre Williams out of Boston College, at 511" and 230 lbs on contact he should move forward. He reminds me of Frank Gore in San Francisco. This is a tough team to read in that they started the season 0-6 and ended the season on a 7-3 run. They picked up a good middle linebacker in Jon Beason last year but need Jason Pierre-Paul to regain his health and hunger from his rookie season. The trio of Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and eventually Odell Beckham Jr. are all up-and-coming receivers but tight end is unknown and the offensive line will have three of five new starters to run a new offence with a new coordinator in Ben McAdoo. That is a lot of "new" for my liking. Really the Giants over the last five seasons have struggled in the regular season. Yes, they won the Super Bowl in 2007 and yes, again in 2011 but over the last five years their regular season record is 8-8, 10-6, 9-7, 9-7 and 7-9. The NFC East is not like the NFC West with four good teams. The NFC East is a "what if" division. What if Philadelphia has a great year from Nick Foles? What if Dallas on defence is as good as Dallas on offence? What if Jay Gruden has a major impact on Robert Griffin III? And what about the New York Giants? It is tough to think it but it just may happen. Giants to finish fourth in the NFC East. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '