NFL union files suit against league
NFL union files suit against league
The players union claimed Wednesday that the NFL imposed a secret salary cap during the uncapped 2010 season that cost the players at least $1 billion.
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, which oversees the Reggie White settlement covering NFL labor matters. But the league says the union has no grounds for the action and is prohibited from filing it by the collective bargaining agreement.
The complaint claims a “conspiracy” to set a $123 million salary cap for the 2010 season, when owners did not have the authority to do so. The Cowboys and Redskins have had their future salary caps lowered for overspending in 2010, Dallas by $10 million over two seasons, Washington by a whopping $36 million.
Both teams lost a grievance against those reductions on Tuesday.
“When the rules are broken in a way that hurts the game, we have an obligation to act. We cannot stand by when we now know that the owners conspired to collude,” union chief DeMaurice Smith said Wednesday.
In response to the reopening of the Reggie White lawsuit, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “There was no collusion. There was no agreement. These claims are totally unfounded.”
Rusty Wallace heads Hall of Fame group
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace hated running second to anyone and doesn’t plan to start now that he’s part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Wallace, the 1989 series champion who won 55 races, headed the group of five picked Wednesday as NASCAR’s newest Hall of Famers. The others selected were Leonard Wood, Herb Thomas, Cotton Owens and Buck Baker.
Wood was a famed member of the Wood Brothers teams whose brother, Glen, was picked for the hall last year. Thomas was one of NASCAR’s first superstar drivers, Owens a success as driver and owner, and Baker is 14th on the victory list with 46.
Isner gets past Malisse at Open de Nice
NICE, France — Top-seeded John Isner advanced to the Open de Nice quarterfinals Wednesday, beating Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) in the clay-court event.
The hard-serving American had 13 aces in the match. He will face Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. The Russian topped seventh-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
No. 2 Gilles Simon of France and No. 3 Nicolas Almagro of Spain also advanced.
Simon downed Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-3 and will play Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who beat Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-3. Almagro overcame Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (5), 6-4 and will face Steve Darcis of Belgium, who rallied past Italian Filippo Volandri 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Gael Monfils of France was knocked out by American Brian Baker, 6-3, 7-6 (9). Ranked 216th, Baker is playing in his first tour-level event since the 2005 U.S. Open — and first ever on clay.
Baker will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 winner over No. 5 Bernard Tomic of Australia.
Schiavone moves on in Strasbourg
STRASBOURG, France — Three-time champion Anabel Medina Garrigues and second-seeded Francesca Schiavone reached the quarterfinals of the Strasbourg International on Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard labored to a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (2) win against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei, while Schiavone beat Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic 6-1, 6-2.
From wire sources