Lob und Kritik » coming more and more vehement.The high-profile

BOCA RATON, Fla. - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the Board of Governors had no objection to billionaire businessman Bill Foley exploring the level of interest in an expansion team coming to the city of Las Vegas.Bettman was adamant that nothing more should be read into the leagues consideration of Foleys request in terms of any advancement in expansion discussions. He explained that the interest from Foley and Las Vegas raised questions about the viability of that market being able to support a team, which is why Foley wants to conduct a season ticket drive and see what kind of numbers are achieved.There are currently 30 franchises operating in the NHL and even though there has been interest shown by other cities in addition to Las Vegas, like Quebec City and Seattle, there is no guarantee that enough votes would be procured to approve any expansion. That was the main point Bettman wanted to get across after this first of two days of meetings.There is no formal expansion process, Bettman said. There is no vote that was taken today. There is no vote that was contemplated. We dont have an agreement to sell anybody an expansion process.When asked why the league would even consider expansion, Bettman reiterated the growing interest from other cities in adding a team, and in Foleys case he has expressed an interest for more than a year. But the league hasnt even studied the Las Vegas market as far as its strength and no timeline has been established for an expansion process.Pierre Dion of Quebecor attended the meeting Monday but not to discuss his pursuit of an expansion team in Quebec City. He was there strictly to address the television relationship between his TVA Sports French TV network and the league.The other two highlights on the agenda that Bettman placed a priority on were the preliminary projections of what the salary cap will be next season and an update on the transfer of ownership of the Arizona Coyotes to Andrew Barroway.Our best guess, and its gotten some variation in it, is if the Canadian dollar stays where it is now for the rest of the season, which is about .88 cents, the cap for next season would be approximately $73 million, Bettman said. Thats a guess. Its subject to variation and it also assumes that the Canadian dollar stays where it is now.As for the Coyotes and Barroway, he said that is an ongoing process that is still on track and the board is not yet ready to vote on it. China Jerseys . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Stitched Jerseys . 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Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said.LONDON - Hes young, experienced and wants to play — but it looks like public opinion in Britain may prevent forward Ched Evans from ever resuming his professional soccer career.Evans, 26, is out of prison after serving time for raping a 19-year-old woman in his hotel room in 2011. Yet public reaction to his possible return to the nations favourite sport is becoming more and more vehement.The high-profile case raises questions about the role of rehabilitation and challenges conventional wisdom that a convicted criminal who has paid for his offence should be given a chance to work. The situation is complicated by Evans lack of remorse — he insists he is innocent and has never apologized.Oldham, an English team that plays in the countrys third-tier League One, is considering signing Evans but major sponsors Verlin and Mecca Bingo said Monday they will drop the team if he joins. Thousands have signed an online petition opposing his return.I agree hes served his time but its a very serious crime, said Kath Woodward, a professor of sociology at Britains Open University who deals extensively with sports issues. Remorse would go some way toward ameliorating the situation. Its very disappointing that clubs like Oldham are trying to get a reasonable player cheap. It shows the management of football (soccer) doesnt understand the changing times.She said societys attitudes toward rape and sexual harassment have hardened considerably since the days when former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was able to resume his boxing career after serving time in prison for a 1992 rape.I can remember the idea you just have to put up with it, its part of life, but women now are not prepared to do that, she said. Theres a lot of public feeling against him coming back, a lot of public protests. The fans genuinely dont want it.Oldhams chief executive, Neil Joy, said Monday that discussions were continuing with soccer authorities on the topic but the club was not ready to make any official announcement concerning a possible pact with Evans.There have not been any high-profile cases of convicted rapists returning to professional team sports in the United States. However, some professional athletes in the U.S. have been able to resume their careers after prison sentences, including NFL quarterbackk Michael Vick, who served time for his role in a dogfighting ring.ddddddddddddEvans was jailed for five years in 2012 but was released in October after serving half his sentence. The former Wales national team player said he would work to clear his name and that he wanted to return to soccer.Sheffield United said in November that Evans would train with the club, sparking almost immediate opposition. Prominent Britons, including Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis, said they would drop their association with the club if they signed Evans.The pressure worked — the club changed course after 10 days and said Evans would not be training there after all.After that, the prospect that Evans could play overseas was raised when a Maltese team said it would offer him a contract. But British officials said since Evans was a convicted sex offender this would likely be impossible. A Ministry of Justice statement said probation officers would have to approve any new job and would have to be assured of regular, face-to-face meetings, which effectively rules out working abroad.Then Oldham entered the picture. But resistance has been fierce, with some 20,000 people signing an online petition opposing his addition.Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd even took the unusual step of wading into the controversy. He said Evans lack of remorse and failure to acknowledge his crime should keep him out of the game.Ched Evans is a convicted rapist and, whilst I strongly believe in the principle of rehabilitation, it will send out entirely the wrong message if they offer him a contract, Lloyd said.Professor Simon Chadwick, who specializes in sports marketing at Coventry University, said Evans has become a toxic player that nobody wants to touch.Chadwick said Evans made the situation worse by presenting his case to the public in an arrogant way that does not seem to comprehend the severity of his crime.Nobody wants to see somebody who has perpetrated violent crime against women be so easily allowed back in, he said. Normally youd say, if he served his time, he should have the opportunity to re-enter the workplace and continue his work. But this is not a legal issue, its a socio-cultural issue. What this man has done is deemed by many to be unacceptable. ' ' '