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Well its finally happened. Ten retired players are suing the NHL in a class action lawsuit alleging that the league didnt do enough to protect their brains. Gary Leeman, Rick Vaive, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richie Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, Blair Stewart and Morris Titanic retained the law firm Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White and filed their lawsuit on Monday. This lawsuit is not a surprise, and most certainly is not a surprise to the NHL. The league is run by lawyers (Gary Bettman and Bill Daly) and its likely they have been anticipating a court action for some time. When I interviewed Bill Daly on my radio show in May of this year, I asked him if the league was concerned about the possibility of a concussion lawsuit like we saw in the NFL. This was his response: "Certainly, were aware of them, and aware of the industry in which we operate. You have to be cognizant of whats going on around you. Im a lawyer by training, so I follow legal developments and certainly thats a legal development...Having said that, I dont think litigation per se can direct your business strategy. I think its similar to what we were talking about before. You have to do what is right. Obviously, we feel there is an obligation on the part of the league office to make the game as safe as it can be without changing the culture of the game. Part of the attractiveness of our sport as an entertainment product is the contact nature of our sport. You dont want to take contact out. At the same time, if you can minimize injuries and make it safer for the players, you try to do that." On to the lawsuit. The key allegation raised by the players is concealment. The players are arguing that the league knew of the long-term neurological impact of repeated headshots and elected not to share that information with the players. By not revealing that information, players did not have an opportunity to make an informed decision about playing in the NHL. So the focal point of this lawsuit has less to do with the players knowing the risk, playing and complaining after the fact. Rather, the pivotal issue is whether the league concealed information. Do the players have a case? That is tough to say since everything turns on the evidence. However, this is not an easy lawsuit for the players. They will have an number of hurdles to overcome. First is the issue of causation. In order to get paid, the plaintiffs like Vaive and Leeman are going to have to show that the brain damage they suffered was caused at the NHL level. On the flip side, the NHL will point out that no one can say for sure what caused a players neurological condition, and even if it was caused by repeated headshots while playing hockey, how much of that damage was sustained while in the NHL and not in places like the AHL, WHL or Europe. So what caused the damage and when it was caused become critically important issues. Leeman played about 660 regular season NHL games. He also played 357 games outside the NHL. Will he be able to make a convincing case that even if the NHL concealed information, his neurological impairment was caused at the NHL level? What kind of chance does Warren Holmes have of proving the NHL caused his damage when he only played 45 regular season NHL games while playing in 737 games outside the league? And what about Morris Titanic, who played just 19 NHL games. The league will also take the position that it didnt conceal any information. Rather, they will argue that there wasnt any conclusive science at the time and they had the same information the players had. Basically, they will say we knew what you knew. That being the case, the league will then maintain that the players were aware of the risk associated with playing hockey based on the science at that time, and agreed to those risks each time they stepped onto the ice. This legal principle is called informed consent (which makes sense since thats a nice way to describe it). The NHL could also argue that this lawsuit doesnt belong in court in the first place, but rather should go to arbitration. The collective bargaining agreement provides that issues of player health and safety go to arbitration and not court. On the flip side, the players could take the position that since this case involves fraud, it properly falls outside of arbitration and within the jurisdiction of the courts. So the bottom line is this: the players will need to provide good evidence showing that the league concealed the harmful impact of repeated headshots. If they dont have that evidence, they will have a very difficult time. On top of that, they will need to deal with the very tricky issue of causation. As far as next steps, it would not be a surprise to see more players join the lawsuit. Indeed, Vaive, Leeman and the other eight plaintiffs will not want to stand alone as there is strength in numbers. They will also look to make splash with a big name player. Ultimately, their goal may be settlement that provides players with some level of monetary relief very much like we saw in the NFL concussion lawsuits. In that case, the sides settled for about $765 million (however, the settlement has not yet been approved by the Court and any player has the option to opt out of the settlement and file his own lawsuit). On the NHL side, the league may look to have the lawsuit kicked out of court on the basis that it doesnt belong in court but rather at arbitration. This lawsuit is just starting and there is still a lot of ground to cover. Stay tuned. Fernando Gago Jersey . 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In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Sergio Aguero Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell.For a fleeting moment on Friday when I saw that the New York Yankees had designated Vernon Wells for assignment, I wondered if the Blue Jays would take him back or even want him back. After all, the Jays are looking for a right-hand hitting platoon partner for Adam Lind. Wells fits the bill in that department, but outside of a solid six weeks or so sto tart with the Yankees last season, his numbers over the past two years with the Los Angeles Angels and in New York have been in serious decline. Consider this, though: Last season Wells hit .281 against the Jays with three home runs and 10 runs batted in. At Rogers Centre, he batted .357 with two homers and six runs batted in. Granted, both are extremely small sample sizes, but the pride he showed facing his original team has to count for something. Then, there is, of course, the economics. Of the $21 mill. Wells is owed in the final year of his contract, the Angels are responsible for $18.6 mill. Its possible, then, that after the Yankees share is factored in, a team could get Vernon Wells for $500,000 for this season. He has said in the recent past, he will retire after this contract is up, so there isnt a major risk involved. In fact, its the same situation the Blue Jays found themselves in with lefty reliever Darren Oliver last season and now Oliver has retired. The Blue Jays are hoping that after back surgery Melky Cabrera will return to form and play left field, but Wells would offer insurance in left and, as mentioned earlier, could split the DH duties with Adam Lind. I dont know that it will happen, and actually doubt that it will, but there is another angle to consider and thats the Blue Jays history of bringing back veterans over the years. I havent done an in depth study on this, but I doubt any team in baseball has brought back more franchise veterans than the Blue Jays have. Just consider some of the names. Alfredo Griffin, the Blue Jays shortstop in the late 70s and early 80s, was traded away to the Oakland Athletics for would-be closer Bill Caudill. Griffin was brought back as a free agent and collected World Series rings with the club in 92 and 93 as a utility infielder. Tony Fernandez, who succeeded Griffin at short, was dealt to the San Diego Padres along with Fred McGriff in the franchise changing-deal for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. Fernandez was brrought back in a trade in time to play for the World Series winners in 1993.dddddddddddd Dave Stieb, the franchises first ace, was out of the game for four years when the Jays brought him back for a comeback in 1998 that lasted through the end of the season. Stieb went 1-2 with a couple of saves at age 40 in a swing role, before ultimately retiring for a second and final time. Pat Borders, stalwart catcher and MVP of the 92 World Series, returned as a free agent for a brief stint in 1999 and actually added one more homer to his Blue Jays resume. And there were others, Pat Hentgen returned as a pitcher and later as a coach. Lloyd Moseby returned as a coach, as did Pete Walker, who pitched for the team and is now the pitching coach. It goes even higher up the ladder than that. Cito Gaston, who managed the Jays to both of their World Series titles and then was fired late in the 1997 season, came back as a hitting coach under Jim Fregosi and then managed the team again for two-plus seasons. John Gibbons, too, has managed the team twice and Paul Beeston has been with the Blue Jays on two separate occasions sandwiched around a brief time working in the commisioners office. All of this doesnt even include the rollercoaster journeys of lefty David Wells and the "Beeg Mon" Rico Carty, who both played for the Jays multiple times The Jays have already brought back one storied veteran this season in Roy Halladay, who signed with the club for a day in the off-season so he could officially retire with the team that drafted him and helped forge his career. I dont know what, if anything, Vernon Wells has left, but at worst he is a very cheap risk and, at best, another classy Blue Jays veteran who would look good ending his career in Toronto. Players can begin filing for arbitration on Tuesday. The Blue Jays have three players eligible in lefty reliever Brett Cecil, swing starter Esmil Rogers and outfielder Colby Rasmus. Rasmuss situation is the most interesting, since he is going into his final season before he can become an unrestricted free agent. GM Alex Anthopoulos appears willing to let this one play off well into the season before deciding on whether or not to re-sign Rasmus to a long-term deal. Based on what the Blue Jays have done the last two seasons, that is probably the right decision. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '