ST. LOUIS - Jaroslav Halak needed to make only 12 saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season and T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist in the St. Louis Blues 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. Matt DAgostini, Chris Stewart and Adam Cracknell also scored for the Blues, who avoided falling below .500 for the first time this season. Nikolai Khabibulin took the loss for the Oilers, who have scored only seven goals during their skid. It was a matchup of Western Conference foes who are out of the playoff picture, with the Blues winning for only the second time in six games (2-4) while extending the Oilers winless streak to eight (0-6-2). Edmontons shot total matched a season low and they didnt register a shot in the third period until there was 1:08 remaining in the game. Oshie opened the scorig with 1:32 left in the second period on a wrist shot from the low right circle, beating Khabibulin high on the short side to give the Blues a 1-0 lead. DAgostini extended the lead 2:12 into the third period by snapping a shot that squirted between Khabibulins pads from the low left circle. Stewart added his 10th goal with the Blues and 23rd overall since coming in a trade with Colorado on Feb. 19 by finishing off Oshies feed from the slot 8:30 into the third period. Cracknell made it 4-0 with a one-time finish of a cross-ice feed from Kevin Shattenkirk with 4:53 remaining. Although there were no goals scored in the first period, there were three fights that kept the crowd entertained. Cam Janssen and Jim Vandermeer kicked things off in a lengthy bout, followed by Ryan Reaves and Theo Peckham after one second ticked off the clock. Then, B.J. Crombeen and Jean-Francois Jacques completed the fight hat trick near the end of the opening period. Notes: Blues C Patrik Berglund (lower-body injury) missed his first game of the season. That leaves C David Backes and DAgostini as the only players to have appeared in all 74 games this season. C T.J. Hensick was recalled from AHL Peoria to replace Berglund. ... The Oilers have scored two or fewer goals during this eight-game winless streak. ... Oilers D Kurtis Foster (neck) missed the game after being injured Tuesday in Nashville. Foster joined D Ryan Whitney (ankle), LW Taylor Hall (ankle), RW Ales Hemsky (shoulder), C Sam Gagner (hand), C Shawn Horcoff (ankle) and RW Gilbert Brule (concussion) on the injured list. ... The Blues are playing without D Barret Jackman (finger), LW Alex Steen (ankle), RW David Perron (concussion) and C Vladimir Sobotka (foot). ... The Blues have killed 26 consecutive Oilers power plays dating to the 2008-09 season.
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jerseys from china . Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo took the field on Saturday afternoon to face off against the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the first time since their second-straight Grey Cup victory last November.Its been brought up a lot lately: can a team like the New York Yankees or Milwaukee Brewers terminate the contracts of Alex Rodriguez or Ryan Braun because of PED use? Its a good question to ask. A lot of baseball fans are upset and disappointed that a number of players have gained an unfair competitive advantage by taking substances that make them better, stronger and faster. As Tony Kornheiser once said, PEDs make good players great and great players immortal. PEDs can also make players rich. At about $450 million, admitted PED user Alex Rodriguez has earned more money than any other major league ball player. Ever. Braun is still owed $122 million through 2020, with a $15 million mutual option for 2021. Rodriguez is 38-years-old and has $86 million due over the next four years. Presumably, these teams would love nothing more than to get out from under these contracts. It doesnt help that fan backlash has a negative brand impact. Starting With Player Contracts So back to our question: Can a team terminate a contract on the basis that a player is found to have done PEDs? It would be tough - very tough. It doesnt mean, though, that a team cant try. There are things a team could rely on when terminating a player contract. They would start with the language in the player contract. It provides at Paragraph 7(b)(1) that a team can terminate a contract if a player, "fails, refuses or neglects to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship or to keep himself in first-class physical condition or to obey the clubs training rules." Also, Paragraph 7(b)(3) of that same contract allows for termination if a player, "fails, refuses or neglect to render his services hereunder or in any manner materially breach this contract." This language is broad and could allow a team to argue a few things. For example, the team could allege that by doping, a player failed to "obey the clubs training rule." The team could also point to PED use as not being in keeping with "standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship." The team would then take the position that the termination of a players contract is warranted since the player failed to discharge the obligations under his contract (or put another way, breached his contract). While not unreasonable, these arguments probably wouldnt be successful. Punishments for PED use are handled by the collectively bargained Drug Policy. That means that both MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) negotiated the Policy and agreed it would be used to govern punishments related to testing positive for PEDs. So thats why the Drug Policy is there in the first place. If the sides had agreed to tougher sanctions for PED use and put them in the Drug Policy, then those tougher sanctions would govern. However, they arent in the Drug Policy. And one more thing - courts dont like it when a business has a specific policy in place dealing with a specific offence and that business then elects to ignore that specific policy and does its own thing. Finally, terms like "good citizenship" and "good sportsmanship" are open to interpretation. Im Not Who I Said I am A team could also claim that a player misrepresented himself at the time he signed his contract. So in the case of the Yankees, they could say that when Rodriguez signed his 10-year/$275 million contract in 2008, they werent getting the player they thought they were getting; Rodriguez wasnt being truthful about the nature of his abilities and how he achiieved such a high level of success.dddddddddddd The Yankees could argue that had they known Rodriguez was cheating they would not have signed him. Once again, though, the Drug Policy is in place to deal with PED use. So this argument would be a real uphill battle for Yankees. PED Injuries A team could also allege the use of PEDs has had an adverse impact on a players health resulting in serious injuries (for example, according to some experts, the use of PEDs can weaken connective tissue and make athletes more prone to certain types of injuries). So the team could say that the player did not keep "himself in first-class physical condition" since his use of PEDs resulted in injury. However, unless a team can show a direct link between PED use and a players injury (which is hard to do), they would fail in their bid to terminate or fire a player. The Union There is another reason that an attempt to kill a contract would be a challenge: the strength of the union. The MLBPA has a long history of being a strong advocate for its players and vigorously contesting sanctions or punishments imposed on its members. Indeed, players have enjoyed very good success at arbitration on appeal. The MLBA is widely considered the strongest union in sports and one of the strongest unions in North America. Voiding Contracts: From Drug Trafficking To Strangulation Case in point: Lamarr Hoyt. In 1987, the San Diego Padres voided his contract after he was sentenced to jail following multiple drug charges, including intent to distribute cocaine and attempting to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the U.S. This would seem to be specifically the type of conduct that would justify voiding a contract - right? Wrong. The Players Association filed a grievance and won. Back in 2004, the Colorado Rockies tried to void Denny Neagles contract after he was charged with soliciting a prostitute. The MLBPA stepped in, and ultimately Rockies agreed to pay him $16 million of the $19.5 million left on his deal contract. In 2005, the Baltimore Orioles voided Sidney Ponsons contract for driving while intoxicated (as well as some other stuff). The MLBPA grieved, and the sides ended up settling. According to reports, Ponson got a sizable chunk of his $11.2 million salary. As a member of the Red Sox in 1997, Wil Cordero was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Cordero pled guilty to criminal charges for beating his wife and threatening to kill her. Still, the Red Sox decided not to void his contract. There is, however, an instance where a player contract was successfully terminated. In 2008, Shawn Chacon refused to leave the team dining room to speak with Houston Astros GM Ed Wade in his office. This confrontation ended with Chacon grabbing Wade by the neck and throwing him to the ground. Each time Wade tried to get up, Chacon knocked him back to the ground. Chacons contract was terminated with cause. The move was appealed by the MLBPA, but the appeal was unsuccessful. So short of strangling your employer, it can be tough to successfully terminate a contract (even then, Latrell Sprewell only got 68 games for choking NBA coach P. J. Carlesimo). Overall, a team would have a difficult time terminating a contract if a player was found to have used PEDs. It doesnt mean a team cant try with the end game being a favourable buyout. It just means that a team would have an awfully tough time terminating the contract. Eric Macramalla is TSNs Legal Analyst and can be heard each week on TSN Radio 1050. You can follow him on Twitter @EricOnSportslaw.
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