In Tampa, Caitlin Johnson reported USL Tampa Bay Rowdies Owner Bill Edwards is suing NASL for fraud, "claiming he never would have bought the Rowdies if he had known about a 'criminal conspiracy' involving the league." The lawsuit, filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court on Thursday, "seeks to void any agreements with the NASL and asked for Edwards to be awarded costs and damages." The team left NASL in '16 and started playing in the USL this year (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/15).
GAMBLING GAME: The NFL is mulling potential fines for players who participated in an arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas recently, and the AP's Tim Dahlberg wrote people there have "long been used to the NFL being hypocritical when it comes to gambling." However, they might have thought the issue "was settled" when owners agreed to accept $750M to move the Raiders to Vegas. Dahlberg: "Doesn't the league realize its owners just voted 31-1 to allow the Oakland Raiders to move here?" The "real joke" is on the league as it tries "fitfully to move forward in a world where the old rules no longer apply" (AP, 4/15).
EMERALD CITY: In Seattle, Andrew McIntosh reported the NHL has "acquired Canadian rights to the Seattle Metropolitans name and the distinctive S-shaped logo." The NHL "quietly scooped up the registered title to the Canadian trademark rights" in late November '15. The acquisition would "allow the NHL to license and sell Seattle Metropolitans merchandise in Canada, whether it some day brings a team to Seattle under that name or just wants to tap fan interest in throwback hockey apparel" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/14).
