NEWS » nsion is reasonable. Who will win on ap

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Vikings worked out multiple kickers Tuesday but are now planning to stick with Blair Walsh, a league source told ESPNs Adam Schefter.Walsh, 26, missed an extra point and had a 46-yard field goal blocked in the Vikings overtime loss to the Lions on Sunday, ushering in a fresh round of unrest after he went three games without a missed kick. Walsh has now missed more extra points (three) than any other kicker in the league this season, and his 75 percent success rate on field goals is tied for 25th in the league.Its been a tough calendar year for Walsh.?His playoffs miss against the Seattle Seahawks cost the Vikings a chance to beat the two-time NFC champions in the wild-card round.?He missed an extra point and two field goals in the Vikings season-opening win this year, missed another extra point against the Panthers in Week 3 -- which led coach Mike Zimmer to admit he went for two points later in the game because he was worried about the kicker -- and missed another field goal in Week 4 against the Giants.On Monday, after Walshs two misses, Zimmer said the Vikings were bringing in a group of kickers for tryouts. Those that came in Tuesday were?Randy Bullock, Travis Coons, Kai Forbath, Zach Hocker, Marshall Koehn and Aldrick Rosas.When asked why the team decided to try other options, Zimmer said, You havent been watching all year?Later, the coach added, At some point in time, you have belief and confidence in guys because you know what theyve done in the past. You know what theyve done. Weve missed three extra points this year, weve missed several field goals. The way our games are being played, theyre probably going to come down to a lot of close games, I hope so at least, anyway. We have to look at all avenues as far as what gives us the best opportunity to win football games.Walsh, who won widespread praise for the way hed handled his miss against the Seahawks, made it clear Sunday that hed grown tired of questions about his missed kicks.?Its not that Im frustrated with you. Its just, you guys have got to understand, what do you want the answer to be? Walsh said. I want to be there for my team. Of course I want to make it. But come on. You guys ask the same questions every week: Did you make it? Why didnt it go in? I mean, if I had the answer right away, Id tell you. Im confident in what Im doing. I know that Im going to be fine. But its tough right now.Information from ESPNs Field Yates was used in this report. Nike Air Max Myydään . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Nike Air Max Kengät . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.airmaxsuomi.com/ .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Myydään Nike Air Max . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Nike Air Max Halvalla . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.He made it official - hes going to fight. After Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez for 211 games on Monday, he declared he would appeal his punishment. That said, heres your breakdown on the performance-enhanced road ahead. On what basis did Major League Baseball suspend A-Rod? Heres MLBs statement on the suspension: "Rodriguezs discipline under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human growth hormone, over the course of multiple years. Rodriguezs discipline under the Basic Agreement is for attempting to cover up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioners investigation." So this means that baseball relied on two different agreements when suspending A-Rod. The first is the Drug Policy, which provides that a player can be suspended if he tests positive for PEDs (didnt happen here) or if there is evidence he used PEDs (happened here). Beyond the Drug Policy, MLB suspended A-Rod under its Basic Agreement, which provides that a player may be disciplined for conduct that is detrimental or prejudicial to the best interests of baseball. So the basis for the suspension has a couple of prongs to it. When will the appeal be heard? According to the Drug Policy, the whole appeal process, including the decision, should take about a month. Thats how it generally goes down. But not here. In situations where you have a positive drug test being appealed, the appeal can be disposed of in 30 days or so. Those types of cases can be more or less straightforward. However, with A-Rod, there was no positive drug test. Rather, MLB based its suspension on volumes and volumes of documentary evidence, like text messages, emails, and testimony in the form of affidavits (or sworn statements). Before A-Rods lawyers are ready to appear before the arbitrator, they will carefully review all the evidence and consider its reliability and truth. They will do this evidentiary piece by evidentiary piece. That takes a lot of time. So expect the appeal to be heard after the season – maybe in October or November. So later rather than sooner. Since A-Rod can play pending his appeal, he will play the rest of the season and into the playoffs if the Yankees make it that far. This assumes he doesnt get hurt or test positive. Who is the arbitrator? His name is Fredric Horowitz, hes 64 years old and specializes in labour and employment arbitration. After MLB fired arbitrator Shyam Das when he overturned Ryan Brauns suspension, Horowitz was hired to replace him and handle these types of grievances. Hes been a full time arbitrator since 1988. If you want to learn more about him (and have nothing better to do), click here to read his CV. So let me get this straight: MLB or the Union can fire Horowitz if either dont like his ruling? Yep. That seems like a lot of pressure? Theyre used to it. How does the arbitration hearing work? Its a bit like a mini trial. Both sides present their evidence and call witnesses. It is, however, lesss formal than a trial.dddddddddddd What type of power does the arbitrator have? The arbitrators ruling will be binding on the parties. So whatever he decides, the parties have no choice but to follow it. Horowitz has the discretion to change the suspension. He may, for example, lower the suspension to 150 games. He also has the power to completely vacate or overturn the suspension. Hes powerful. What will A-Rod argue at the appeal? Ultimately, A-Rod will focus more on the length of the suspension and less on the merit and substance of the suspension. He will say that the collectively bargained Drug Policy provides for a 50 game suspension for a first time offender like him, and as a result his 211 game suspension is not only excessive and heavy-handed, but also not in keeping with the Drug Policy. The Drug Policy calls for a specific punishment for a first timer, and that punishment was ignored in favour of a far longer suspension. Also expect A-Rod to go after Boschs credibility. The founder of Biogenesis has allegedly engaged in criminal activity. As well, Bosch only cooperated with the league after it sued him. So A-Rod may question Boschs motives, and by extension the reliability of his evidence. So from A-Rods standpoint, Bosch is flawed and vulnerable to attack. Same thing for Porter Fisher, the Biogenesis investor who blew this case wide open. What will MLB argue? The league will declare that A-Rods suspension, while harsh, is completely warranted. MLB will argue that A-Rod has engaged in an extensive and continuous pattern of PED use since at least 2010. He also has a long standing relationship with Bosch that may date back to 2009. MLB may also allege that A-Rod obstructed its investigation, tampered with witnesses and generally interfered with its attempt to get to the truth. He may have also recruited players to Biogenesis. Ultimately, his pervasive and wide ranging pattern of wrongdoings is not only contrary to the Drug Policy, but also the MLBs Basic Agreement, which allows baseball to discipline a player for conduct detrimental to the game. So given these various factors, A-Rods suspension is reasonable. Who will win on appeal? Dont know. The evidence will rule the day, and without having the benefit of reviewing it, we cant know how this will unfold. The past may suggest we will see a reduction in the length of the suspension (maybe to 150 games), but thats just a guess. If the evidence is strong, Horowitz will leave the suspension as is. What if A-Rod doesnt like the arbitrators ruling? If A-Rod is dissatisfied with the arbitrators decision, he could take his case to court. Generally, courts dont like interfering with the decision of arbitrators since arbitrators are specialized and know their area pretty well. So unless the decision is really bad, a court may just tell A-Rod to live with it. However, merit of an appeal aside, if A-Rod heads to court, this case could drag on for years. He has threatened to fight this and dig in, so court is possible. Well, thats not fun. No its not. None of this is. Eric Macramalla is TSNs Legal Analyst and can be seen on TSN SportsCentre and heard on TSN Radio 1050. You can follow him on Twitter @EricOnSportslaw. ' ' '