Northwestern Voting To Unionize Today

((HT: MyFoxChicago))

It all starts today... and goes on all day...

The vote for the Northwestern football players to unionize is going on on campus and the National Labor Relations Board has been asked to certify it. The NLRB will review the ruling, but the results won't be known for some time... and only if the board agrees with the players assessment of their status.

Coaches have campaigned against the idea of a union- openly so... even going as far as distributing "informational material" to explain their point-of-view...

Anita Padilla is outside with Lester Munson
Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Northwestern football-playing alums even went as far as sending a letter to the school's Board of Directors supporting Kain Colter and what his fellow players are doing as a talking point for change.

Not necessarily supporting unionization, just talking about change...

From the letter, given to CBSSports:

Collegiate Alumni Athletes for Change believes that as a private NCAA institution, Northwestern University is in a
unique position to lead. The University should begin by making modifications to the governance process to give
players a greater voice and a substantive stake in the creation of policies and regulations that impact their
interests. We believe that a greater voice for players creates an equity that is in both the University's and the
player's interests. It protects and preserves the game that we love, and also initiates a new model and practice for
the business of college sports. It will create an even more intelligent and reasonable model and framework where
schools can substantively address athletically related revenues with the individuals that are largely responsible for
producing those revenues.

And the HQ knows this is just the beginning of a long process- just ask Ed O'Bannon about that...

So Much For That "Second Arena In Toronto" Idea...For Now...

((HT: Sportsnet))

Remember all that talk about having a second team in Toronto for the NHL...???

That idea is getting shelved for the now...

The City Council voted 11-2 Wednesday night against using any public funds to build an NHL-sized arena. That vote pretty much kills the plan with businessman Graham Roustan, the CEO of GTA Sports and Entertainment, to build a 20,000-seat arena.

Roustan would pay for half while the city would have paid for the other half of the C$162.5-million cost... but, then, Roustan said he would put up C$200-million last week, but that idea didn't work either...

The City Council has now decided to study that second proposal further, and there's no idea as to when the Markham Arena idea would be revisited.

Here's Damien Cox with FOSG Elliotte Friedman discussing the issues with the Markham Arena idea before it got voted down with NHL player agent Anton Thun...

The HQ believes that a second franchise in the GTA would be a success- unquestionably...

The deal just has to be the right deal...

Astrodome Preservation Voted Down

((HT: ABC13 Houston))

It was an expensive idea- just after a yard sale...

Proposition 2 asked taxpayers to approve a $217 million bond to convert the Astrodome into "The New Dome Experience" to save the "8th Wonder of the World..."

No such luck- by, about a 53-47 margin...

"Clearly, on the issue of the dome, the voters have rejected the proposal and the propose bond issue and so Commissioners Court will have to make a decision as to where we go from here," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.

The estimated the cost of demolishing the Astrodome to be between $29 million and $78 million- which will now have to be looked at very closely to see what the future of that building will be.

Since it had fallen into a great deal of disrepair and decay over the last few years...

Here's local coverage of the "no..."


As a sidebar, the voters in the Houston suburb of Katy voted down a referendum to create the most expensive stadium in the state's history...

14,000 seats and $69-million...

So much for that...