A group of 13 U.S. Senators is trying to ratchet up the pressure on soccer officials to hold next summers FIFA Womens World Cup on a natural grass field instead of on artificial turf. TSN has obtained a copy of a letter the senators sent Nov. 7 to FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation to ask for their support after recent efforts by a group of 40 top international players to lobby the Canadian Soccer Association have been met by silence. The players say they are being discriminated against because the mens World Cup has never been played on artificial turf. Turf, they say, increases the risk of injury and overheating. Artificial turf both increases the risk of serious injury and fundamentally changes the way the game is played. FIFA has never used turf fields for the mens World Cup… As members of the United States Senate, we are deeply concerned with FIFAs treatment of these players. We urge you to begin good faith negotiations with these athletes, free of retaliation and with the equal treatment that they deserve, the senators wrote. The letter is signed by Senators including New Yorks Charles Schumer from New York, Californias Dianne Feinstein and Ohios Sherrod Brown. Its unclear how much leverage the U.S. Soccer Federation has over FIFA and the CSA. In a letter sent Nov. 7 to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the senators wrote: FIFA itself has recognized the inferiority of turf to natural grass. In March, FIFAs weekly magazine published an article titled, How Bad are the Artificial Turf Pitches? in which the author points out that male athletes routinely refuse to play on artificial turf, deeming it unacceptable, and widely regarded as deeply problematic. The letter comes a week after lawyers alleged some of the aggrieved players have been illegally threatened with reprisals for their complaint by groups including the U.S. Soccer Federation. In an Oct. 27 letter to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, obtained by TSN, lawyer David Wright asks for three players to be removed from the list of applicants: Teresa Noyola of Mexico; and Camille Abily and Elise Bussaglia of France. While the reprisal threats are reprehensible and actionable, they have thankfully backfired in terms of reducing the total number of named players in this action, Wright said in his letter. As three have withdrawn, we are now able to list at least 60 current individual applicants. The players complaint over the turf dispute was filed Oct. 1 with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, days after FIFA officials started to inspect the six venues that will host the June 6-July 5 competition. The tournament will be held in Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Moncton and Montreal. A spokeswoman for the Canadian Soccer Association has repeatedly declined to comment, referring questions to FIFA. Cheap Air Max Outlet . The 30-year-old Kottaras served as Kansas Citys backup catcher last season after being claimed off waivers from Oakland in January. Air Max Free Shipping Online . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. http://www.cheapairmaxshoesfreeshipping.com/.J. -- Kevin Gilbride retired Thursday as offensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants. Cheap Air Max China .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Wholesale Air Max From China . As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened their main training camp Sunday, Kuale is one of the newcomers brought in to bolster a sagging defence that ranked overall where the Bombers finished 2013, in the CFL cellar with a league high 585 points against.(SportsNetwork.com) - John Tortorella failed to lead the Vancouver Canucks to the playoffs in 2013-14, one big reason why his tenure as the clubs head coach lasted only one season. Tortorella also failed to beat former Canucks and current New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault in two meetings a season ago. New Vancouver bench boss Willie Desjardins hopes for better luck on Saturday night when his club plays host to the Rangers. Vigneault led the Canucks to 30-or-more wins in six straight seasons before the lockout-shortened campaign ended that streak in 2013. He also got Vancouver to within one win of the franchises first Stanley Cup title in the spring of 2011, only to lose a home Game 7 to the Bruins. Vancouver still made the playoffs under Vigneault in 2013, but was swept out of the first round and the early exit cost the coach his job. The Canucks opted to replace him with Tortorella after he had been let go by the Rangers, but Vancouver missed the playoffs and Tortorellas style seemed to clash with many on the Canucks roster. Vigneault, meanwhile, saw his Rangers beat the Canucks twice last regular season, extending their series winning streak to four straight, and New York reached the Stanley Cup Finals, where it lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings. While New York sits fourth in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind third-place Washington, Vancouver is behind only Anaheim in the Pacific Division and is clicking under Desjardins, who was hired to replace Tortorella on June 23. Desjardins will look for his club to pick up the pace in the start of a four- game homestand as the Canucks return to Vancouver following a 3-3-1 road trip.dddddddddddd. They lost the final three games of the trek, including Tuesdays 3-1 decision in Montreal. Ryan Miller stopped 22 shots in the loss and Derek Dorsetts second-period short-handed goal was the lone offense for the Canucks. It was the clubs fourth short-handed tally of the season. Its not an excuse. You have to play at another level when youre on a long road trip as we are, Miller said. We were definitely playing like were at the end, but we competed hard. Im just sorry we couldnt stretch it into overtime, but thats the way it goes. The Rangers come in rested as well, having been out of action since a 4-3 victory at home over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. It was an eventful game for Blueshirts defenseman Kevin Klein, who netted the winning goal with 1:15 to go in overtime, putting him a shot from the high slot and through a screen. I just tried to shoot it far side and it managed to go in. Im happy for that one, said Klein, who has three game-winning goals among his career-high six tallies this season. Earlier in the game, Klein suffered a cut to his left ear on a high stick from Penguins forward Zach Sill and had to get 13 stitches to re-attach the upper part of his ear. J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and Rick Nash all scored for the Rangers, who snapped a two-game slide ahead of tonights opener of a four-game road trip. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 shots in the win. Forward Chris Kreider did not play on Monday due to a neck injury. ' ' '
