Sports Leagues

The NHL on Wednesday opened negotiations in what may be a long summer of labor talks. The league officially notified the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) in writing that it would like to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement. Had either side not notified the other of a desire to terminate the current contract within 120 days of the Sept. 15, 2012, expiration date, the deal would have rolled over into another season. The NHLPA could have also provided the league with notice but chose not to, apparently accepting the status quo. "As you know, this is no surprise," NHLPA leader Donald Fehr said in an e-mail to players and agents Wednesday, according to Sports Business Daily.

The NJSIAA has formed a League and Conference Committee that will eventually recommend the realignment of leagues around the state. The committee, whose goal is to create more equitable competition among varsity teams, will meet through June and, if need be, work into the summer, said Steve Timko, the NJSIAA's executive director. Timko said the changes had "the potential to happen across the board. " The committee is divided into five sections: Non-Public, North I, North II, Central and South.

The abandoned farmland at the corner of Hartford and Salem Roads consists of acres of loose dry dirt and clumps of dead peach trees. Only a sign on the corner marking it as the future home of the Hartford Road Park predicts that things could be happening soon. But owners of the sprawling homes on manicured lawns nearby are concerned about the proposed park. As leaders of the town's youth sports associations dream of a recreation complex complete with lighted fields, a public address system, and maybe even a concession stand, some fear the destruction of their neighborhood.

As Flyers fans have been flocking to games of the Eastern Conference finals and, perhaps, the Stanley Cup playoffs, so do wannabe entrepreneurs selling counterfeit sports memorabilia. It's a huge business. The National Hockey League puts the price tag for unsanctioned knockoff products at "tens of thousands" a year. Sales are in the millions for all pro sports leagues. That's money the NHL, which licenses authentic goods that bear trademarked logos of its teams, does not get. And maverick hucksters do, selling their version of goods for less money on nearby street corners and at subway stops.

Several senators and congressmen said yesterday that they would act if too many major sports events went from broadcast to cable or pay television, and two league commissioners promised that free telecasts would continue. "The lure of big bucks may well prompt sports leagues and teams to completely bypass free TV, writing off those people who can't afford cable or can't get it," Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D., Ohio) said at a Judiciary Committee hearing on sports and TV. "As long as this senator is around, that won't happen," Metzenbaum added.

By the end of next year, young athletes in the township will have $3.5 million worth of new facilities on which to play baseball, lacrosse, soccer and roller hockey. The playing fields, in Salem and North Church Street Parks, will serve the township's growing sports leagues and address a social issue. In the affluent suburb, one of the hot Township Council topics for a year has been dealing with youth crime. Earlier this year, the Township Council approved a curfew for those under 17 and an ordinance that would impose stiff penalties on minors present at parties where alcohol is being served - even those who aren't drinking.

Coyotes' sale Jim Balsillie named a pair of corporate sponsors yesterday in his bid to take the financially troubled Phoenix Coyotes to Canada. The co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said that Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware are the first "anchor corporate partners" to support his bid. He has made a $212.5 million offer for the Coyotes, conditional on the team's moving to Ontario. However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Balsillie's effort may endanger the stability of all U.S. sports leagues.

Sports bodies and governments from around the world approved a policy yesterday to standardize rules against doping and punish athletes who are drug cheats. Under the new code, athletes will be subject to random, out-of-competition drug testing. Now comes the real test: putting the program into practice. "The future will tell us if this wonderful day can also be rated as a pivotal day in the fight against doping," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. After a three-day summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, 65 sports federations and 73 national governments backed a global plan that establishes regulations, procedures and sanctions.

Serena Williams isn't going to take on the best men in her sport regardless of how Annika Sorenstam does against the long-hitting stars of the PGA Tour in the Colonial in May. "I wish I could play," the world's best female tennis player said yesterday before doing a quick about-face. "No, I don't," she went on. "I mean, with tennis it's like Lennox Lewis against Laila Ali, but for golf maybe it's different . . . [Laila Ali would] have no chance against Lennox Lewis, and I'd have no chance against Andre Agassi.

The 12th annual Kit Young hobby trade show, held in Honolulu, is now history. The tans have faded and the memories of meetings with Diamondhead as a backdrop are relegated to the photo albums. But what was accomplished there will help shape the future of an industry that, all agreed, is rebounding from a down cycle. The long-wished-for development of an all-encompassing organization was finalized in Hawaii when the former Sports Cards Manufacturers Association announced that it was reshaping into the Sports Cards Association.

The NHL on Wednesday opened negotiations in what may be a long summer of labor talks. The league officially notified the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) in writing that it would like to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement. Had either side not notified the other of a desire to terminate the current contract within 120 days of the Sept. 15, 2012, expiration date, the deal would have rolled over into another season. The NHLPA could have also provided the league with notice but chose not to, apparently accepting the status quo. "As you know, this is no surprise," NHLPA leader Donald Fehr said in an e-mail to players and agents Wednesday, according to Sports Business Daily.

Perhaps more than any of the professional sports leagues in America, the NBA is the one that most closely resembles TMZ. With very little prompting necessary, there always seems to be a story about some player wanting a trade or wanting his coach canned or something even nuttier (think former St. Joseph's player Delonte West circumnavigating the Washington Beltway with three loaded pistols on a three-wheeled motorcycle). The 76ers have been above this foolishness for the most part, but they delved into it this past week when an article appeared on Sports Illustrated's website that quoted all-star forward Andre Iguodala wondering why teammate Lou Williams, a gifted offensive player, is "one of the toughest guys to guard in the league, but he can't guard anybody.

Though time and a bitter feud have obscured his significant role in the sporting history of a city where he nearly lost his fortune and reputation, Jerry Wolman was back at the center of Philadelphia power Thursday. The onetime Eagles owner and Spectrum developer launched his biography, Jerry Wolman: The World's Richest Man , cowritten by Richard and Joseph Bockol, at an afternoon reception in City Hall. Wolman, 83, wrote the book now, he said, because as his grandchildren grew older they grew more curious about his life.

Pirates losing more than games Where are Major League Baseball's fans? They're certainly not at Pittsburgh Pirates games. Not only are they compiling losing seasons, the Pirates keep losing fans. Pittsburgh's home attendance of 1,577,853 this season was their lowest in the nine seasons since PNC Park opened in 2001. The 122-year-old team has not sunk so low since it drew 1,560,950 to Three Rivers Stadium in 1998. The Pirates are 59-96 with seven road games to play during their record 17th straight losing season, the most of any franchise in the four major North American pro sports leagues.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit here gave pro sports leagues and the NCAA a bit of hope yesterday when it said it would hear arguments by the leagues for why Delaware should be ordered to halt plans for single-game betting. The leagues and the NCAA are suing the state, which wants the case dismissed. The judges asked both sides for written arguments and scheduled a hearing for Monday. Delaware plans to begin sports betting on Sept. 1 at three racetrack casinos in the state, hoping to generate $55 million in revenue to help a budget crisis.

A federal judge yesterday cleared the way for sports betting to begin in Delaware next month, rejecting an emergency request by the top four professional sports and the NCAA to stop it. Yesterday's decision by Judge Gregory M. Sleet, chief of U.S. District Court in Delaware, clears the way for sports betting, including single-game wagers, to debut Sept. 1 at Delaware's three racetrack casinos - in time for the start of the NFL season. "We are moving full speed ahead with our plans to institute a sports lottery by the start of the NFL season," Joe Rogalsky, spokesman for Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, said last night.

The NFL, three other pro leagues, and the NCAA sought a temporary injunction yesterday to stop Delaware's sports-gambling plans, while the sponsor of the law called the sports organizations "blatantly hypocritical. " The leagues filed suit Friday in federal District Court in Wilmington. Yesterday's request for an injunction seeks to prevent single-game betting on NFL games and any betting on other sports at the state's three racetrack casinos. If granted, it could put a stop to Delaware's plans for betting on NFL games when the season begins Sept.

Coyotes' sale Jim Balsillie named a pair of corporate sponsors yesterday in his bid to take the financially troubled Phoenix Coyotes to Canada. The co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said that Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware are the first "anchor corporate partners" to support his bid. He has made a $212.5 million offer for the Coyotes, conditional on the team's moving to Ontario. However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Balsillie's effort may endanger the stability of all U.S. sports leagues.

The NFL pays its players billions of dollars a year and fans pack its stadiums every week. But even the deep-pocketed league is shedding jobs. Commissioner Roger Goodell said yesterday that the league is cutting more than 10 percent of its staff in response to the downturn in the nation's economy that could put a dent in ticket sales for next season. Goodell announced the cuts in a memo to league employees. The NFL is eliminating about 150 of its staff of 1,100 in New York, NFL Films in New Jersey and television and Internet production facilities in Los Angeles.

As Flyers fans have been flocking to games of the Eastern Conference finals and, perhaps, the Stanley Cup playoffs, so do wannabe entrepreneurs selling counterfeit sports memorabilia. It's a huge business. The National Hockey League puts the price tag for unsanctioned knockoff products at "tens of thousands" a year. Sales are in the millions for all pro sports leagues. That's money the NHL, which licenses authentic goods that bear trademarked logos of its teams, does not get. And maverick hucksters do, selling their version of goods for less money on nearby street corners and at subway stops.