AK 10er » o be on the horizon as Jon Lester wont pitch

Twin lawsuits were filed Friday against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League by former player Lukas Walter. In his $50-million case against the QMJHL, Walter alleges that the leagues teams conspired to rewrite standard player contracts last year to avoid paying players the legal minimum wage. In a second, $60-million case filed in Calgary against the WHL, Walter alleged that the work visa the Tri-City Americans secured for him to play for them is proof he had an employer-employee relationship with the team, and should be paid at least minimum wage. The lawsuits were both obtained by TSN. Over the past months, the Canadian Hockey Leagues three major junior leagues have come under fire by former players and union organizers over their working conditions for players. While few of the CHLs star players have complained, other lesser-known players contend that they are receiving a pittance while playing for leagues that have become big business. A recent lawsuit showed that former Oshawa Generals president Patricia Campbell was paid $150,000 during her first year on the job. Player agents say coaches and general managers of teams make some $200,000 each per year. So why are players, 95 per cent of whom wont have long careers in the NHL, expected to work for free? asked one NHL player agent. The CHL and its supporters say, fine, well pay minimum wage and you pay for your sticks and room and board. But thats a ridiculous argument. Does Ford make its workers on the line pay for tools? Its the cost of doing business. The agent also pointed out that room and board wouldnt be necessary if the CHL dropped its player draft and allowed players to play for teams near their family home. Walter, from B.C., played the 2013-14 season with the Saint John Sea Dogs. According to his statement of claim against the QMJHL, Walter signed a contract as a 20-year-old player with Saint John on Sept. 13, 2013. He was to receive $476 per week in compensation, and another $90 a week for accommodation, court papers say. Walter played 53 games as a forward for the Sea Dogs, primarily playing the role of an enforcer. He alleges that he was paid $8,314.29 for the six-month season, and that a record of employment shows that he officially worked 1,048 hours over that time for the team. Lukass bi-weekly pay was always the same, no matter how many hours each week he worked for the team, his lawsuit says. In some weeks, he did not receive a fee equivalent to minimum wage, nor did he receive any vacation pay, holiday pay or overtime pay as required under the applicable employment standards legislation. Walter alleged teams in the QMJHL have unlawfully, maliciously ... conspired and agreed together, the one with the other, to act in concert to demand or require that all players sign a contract which (they) knew was unlawful. Walter is asking that the Quebec court certify his case as a class action lawsuit and award damages of $50 million. Walters allegations have not been proven and the QMJHL and Sea Dogs have not filed a response in court. CHL commissioner David Branch did not respond to an email seeking comment. A QMJHL spokesman couldnt be reached for comment. A Sea Dogs spokesman referred calls to the QMJHL. In a second lawsuit filed later Friday, Walter said that he played the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons for the Tri-City Americans, earning (U.S.) $70 a week in his first season and (U.S.) $85 a week during his second season. Walter is Canadian and the Americans play in Kennewick, Washington. In order for him to travel to the team, its officials acquired him a P-1 work visa for internationally recognized athletes. The entire time he played for the Americans, he was not a student at any time, the lawsuit says. Walter has sued for $45 million worth of back pay, holiday pay and overtime, and $15 million in punitive damages. He is also seeking to certify the Alberta case as a class action. We have not yet had the opportunity to review the lawsuit received late this afternoon, said WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a statement. The WHL will however vigorously defend our player experience and the extensive investment our ownership makes in our players. We will also be addressing those matters that are being taken out of context and used in lawsuits which have been orchestrated by individuals who have no association with the Canadian hockey system or the WHL. WHL players are amateur athletes who are registered in the Canadian amateur system and they receive an extensive benefit package while playing in our League. There is no indication from our current players or their families that they are being treated in any way but a highly fair and respectful manner. Walters lawsuits came days after another lawsuit was filed by former Ontario Hockey League player Sam Berg against the CHL, the governing body for 60 teams in the OHL, QMJHL and Western Hockey League. A statement of claim filed by Berg on behalf of himself and thousands of other players seeks $180 million in outstanding wages, vacation, holiday and overtime pay and employer payroll contributions, according to legal documents obtained by TSN. The documents filed by Berg show players in the OHL receive $50 to $120 a week in compensation, while players in the QMJHL get $35 to $150, depending on the age of the player. Those aged 16 to 19 get $50 a week in the OHL and $35 a week in the QMJHL. CHL president David Branch has repeatedly said that players in the CHL are student athletes, and are well compensated, thanks largely to an education program the league has in place that provides some players with university scholarships when they are done playing. That description of players as student athletes is now under fire in Walters lawsuit. In past years, players were described as independent contractors by teams in their contracts. But in 2013, at the same time as questions were being raised in the U.S. over whether NCAA student athletes receive their fair share of compensation, the CHL redrafted contracts to remove references to fees, Waltons lawsuit alleges. Instead the players fees were recast as an allowance. QMJHL teams have reworded the former contract to describe the fee as an allowance and to recast the status between players and clubs as one of student athletes in an attempt to avoid minimum-wage laws, Walton says. In the wake of Bergs lawsuit and as the union, Unifor continues efforts to start a players union for major-junior hockey, several player agents told TSN that its common practice for teams to give players T-4 tax slips, which they say is evidence that players are employees, not student athletes as Branch describes them. On Oct. 23, before Walton filed his lawsuit, TSN sent Branch a series of emailed questions. One question was: Some OHL teams issued T4 slips for the 2013 tax year ... doesnt that establish an employee-employer relationship? Branch replied on Oct. 24 that we are not currently issuing T4s and we are not certain what the past practices of our Clubs may have been. The teams are responsible for filing their own tax documents and the league doesnt have access to their detailed information. While TSN has learned that the CHL also has a new TV contract with Rogers Communications that is worth at least $5 million a season (the previous TV contract was a barter deal with no rights fee), Branch declined to discuss terms of the CHLs TV contract. The CHL teams also have relationships with video game companies, as noted by Walter in his lawsuit against the Americans and the WHL. The (WHL) used images of Luke for their own profit, including, but not limited to selling the use of his image and name to video game companies for use in a video game which Luke purchased at full price with his own money, Walters lawsuit says. Branch, meanwhile, was also asked about recent changes to the standard players agreement (SPA) in the OHL. I will reiterate that 97 per cent of our players are represented by agents, in addition, the players and their parents are required to sign the SPA and to either provide a certificate of independent legal counsel or a waiver of such, Branch wrote. Air Max Plus On Sale .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. Cheap Air Max Plus .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. http://www.cheapairmaxplus.net/. -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. Cheap Air Max Plus Mens . Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious. Cheap Air Max Plus China . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning.At 12 games out of first place in the American League East, changes are probably coming to the Boston Red Sox. One such move appears to be on the horizon as Jon Lester wont pitch Wednesday nights finale of a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. A pending free agent, Lester is 10-7 with a 2.52 earned run average in 21 starts this year and it appears his time with the franchise that selected him in the second round of the 2002 draft is drawing to a conclusion. If that is the case, Lester will depart a Red Sox franchise that he helped to a pair of World Series victories while going 110-63 in the regular season with a 3.64 ERA over eight-plus seasons. With trade rumors surrounding Lester, manager John Farrell announced after last nights loss that Brandon Workman would start in the left-handers place tonight as the Red Sox try to avoid getting swept. "Yeah, Brandon Workman will start (Wednesday)," Farrell said. "I think in light of all the uncertainty surrounding Jon Lester, its probably in everyones best interests that he does not make that start, so Brandon will be recalled." Workman has not pitched in the majors since July 8, when he was dealt a third straight losing start by the Chicago White Sox. He fell to 1-3 with a 4.13 ERA in 11 games this year, eight of those starts. The 25-year-old righty has faced the Blue Jays only once before and that came in relief on Aug. 14 of last year. He was charged with a run on two hits and a pair of walks in three innings, suffering a loss. The Blue Jays go for a sixth straight win over the Red Sox tonight behind Mark Buehrle, who was once among the major league leaders in wins before a current six-decision losing streak that has stretched nine starts. He has a 4.83 ERA over that span and has not won since June 1. The left-hander is cominng off a 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk in three innings of work.dddddddddddd He also served up two homers, falling to 0-9 in his past 14 starts versus the Yankees dating back to 2004. Buehrle is just 1-12 all-time versus the Yankees in 19 starts. "Why that is, nobody knows. That (just) happens to some players. This team gives him a tough time," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "I didnt see anything different." The 35-year-old is now 10-7 on the year with a 3.19 ERA and has split a pair of meetings with the Red Sox in 2014. He is 9-10 against them lifetime with a 4.46 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). Young hurler Marcus Stroman guided the Blue Jays to a 4-2 win last night, striking out eight over seven innings of one-run ball. Colby Rasmus smacked a solo shot among his pair of hits, while Anthony Gose drilled a two-run double to help Toronto to its fourth straight win and seventh in eight games. Toronto is 2 1/2 games back of first place Baltimore in the AL East, while Boston fell 11 games under .500 with its seventh setback in its last eight. Rubby De La Rosa surrendered three runs on nine hits and two walks over six frames for Boston. "Rubby gave us an opportunity to win. He pitched with some men on base, with the exception of the 3-1 changeup to Gose that doesnt get to the spot for a two-run double on his part, I thought he gave us a solid effort," said Farrell. "Runs have been a premium. Opportunities have been present, but to complete it and finish it out with a timely base hit, particularly with two outs, has been the key when he havent been able to drive some runs in." Toronto has won nine of 12 against the Red Sox this season, sweeping a three- game set in Boston from May 20-22. ' ' '