The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Trottman & Belkin report the National Labor Relations Board is "expected to decide in coming weeks whether to give labor unions a foothold in college sports, a decision that could have a widespread impact on college athletics." Close watchers of the NLRB "predict the board, with its Democratic majority, is more likely than not to uphold the regional decision" that football players are "school employees." If so, the players "would be eligible to form America’s first college-athletes union." The board is "expected to issue the widely anticipated ruling in the run-up to Aug. 27, when Republican member HARRY JOHNSON’s term expires" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/31).
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Gleason's law will make critical technology
available to ALS patients |
CONTINUING TO RAISE AWARENESS: A law that will "make critical technology available" to ALS patients through Medicare and Medicaid, named for former NFLer STEVE GLEASON, "officially became law Thursday," when PRESIDENT OBAMA signed off on it. Gleason was "diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease" in '11, and the legislation is referred to as the Steve Gleason Act in his honor (ESPN.com, 7/30). Meanwhile, MLB announced that its 30 clubs will take part in the return of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this August. Throughout the month, each team will host its own challenge and then call on another franchise, along with two other local personalities of organizations, to participate. As part of the initiative, MLB is donating $100,000 to the ALS Association. Ice Bucket Challenge co-founders PETE FRATES and PAT QUINN will launch the effort Friday at Fenway Park around the Rays-Red Sox game (MLB).
DRIVE-THRU SURPRISE: Penguins C SIDNEY CROSBY and Avalanche C NATHAN MACKINNON on Monday "played Tim Hortons employees for the day while filming a commercial" for the QSR. The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, natives "posed for photos with customers" and "served up some of that famous Canadian coffee" at the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, location (THECHRONICLEHERALD.ca, 7/28). Crosby and MacKinnon on Wednesday also "showed up and checked out the backyard" of 7-year-old BRYAN CARROLL, who has been fighting Leukemia for over a year and "can’t leave home." Crosby, MacKinnon and Carroll "played with water guns" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/30).
