NHLPA files grievance on behalf of Kovalchuk

Hockey Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk's free agency saga took another turn on Monday when the NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on behalf of the Russian superstar who had his 17-year, $102 million contract with New Jersey rejected by the league.

"The NHLPA has filed a grievance disputing the NHL's rejection of the standard player contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk," the NHLPA said in a statement. "Under the terms of the CBA, the NHLPA and Mr. Kovalchuk are entitled to an expedited resolution of this matter. The NHLPA will have no further comment until this matter has been resolved by an arbitrator."

The NHL rejected the record deal last week on grounds that it circumvented the league's salary cap. The rejection was likely due to the way the deal is structured, which was previously reported by the Newark Star-Ledger. He was due to earn $6 million in each of the next two seasons, $11.5 million from 2012-17 and $10.5 million the following year. The salary was scheduled to fall off after that until he made $550,000 annually in the final five years of the deal. He would have been 44 years old when the contract was set to conclude in 2027.

The way the current collective bargaining agreement is structured, a player who signs a deal before the age of 35 can eventually retire and have his contract come off a team's salary cap; however, teams must negotiate in a good faith effort to have the player remain in the league for the duration of the contract. It appears the Devils frontloaded the deal so Kovalchuk could have earned as much money as possible while providing the lowest possible cap hit for the team.

The next step in the process is to find an arbitrator to rule on the case. Once selected, that individual will have 48 hours to decide on an outcome. Kovalchuk will either have his contract with New Jersey upheld or he will once again become an unrestricted free agent, allowing the 27-year-old left winger to sign with any team, should the arbitrator side with the NHL.

Similar investigations were also launched last offseason for Philadelphia's Chris Pronger and Chicago's Marian Hossa, but the league did not void either of those contracts. Pronger signed a seven-year extension worth $35 million, where he makes $525,000 in each of the final two seasons, while Hossa makes $1 million or less in each of the final four years of his 12-year, $62 million deal.

Kovalchuk registered 41 goals and 44 assists in 76 games split between Atlanta and New Jersey last season.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.