kated off with their third consecutive shootout win.

A group of womens soccer players have filed a gender discrimination lawsuit in Toronto against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association over their plans to play the 2015 Womens World Cup on artificial turf. The complaint was filed Wednesday morning with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, TSN has confirmed, 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. The complainants include Abby Wambach of the U.S. and Germanys Nadine Angerer, FIFA players of the year for 2012 and 2013, respectively. The players who filed the complaint charge FIFA is discriminating against women by having the tournament on artificial turf since the 2014 FIFA World Cup for men in Brazil was played on grass. Some professional football leagues, including Major League Soccer and some FIFA World Cup matches, are played on artificial turf. Canada won the right to host the 2015 Games when the only other finalist, Zimbabwe, withdrew from consideration. The leaders of CSA and FIFA are embarrassing the game and, even more, themselves, Hampton Dellinger, a lawyer for the complainants, wrote in a statement. The gifted athletes we represent are determined not to have the sport they love be belittled on their watch. Getting an equal playing field at the World Cup is a fight female players should not have to wage but one from which they do not shrink. Ted Charney, a Toronto lawyer who has argued cases before the tribunal, said he doubts the women would win their case – or that it would be decided before next June. Soccer officials have said natural grass surfaces arent practical because some of the stadiums used for the World Cup are also scheduled to be used next summer for preseason and regular season Canadian Football League games. Its tough to ensure a grass field is in good shape for soccer the day after a football game, the officials have said. Cases at the tribunal are not expedited very often, Charney said. I think this is a question of availability. If this was a mens tournament being played here at the same time and they, too, were playing on turf, then this becomes a question of availability, and I dont see how theres a violation. But theres no downside since the loser at the tribunal does not have to cover legal costs for the other party, he said. Its a free ride, a chance for the women to make a political statement. David Wright, another lawyer for the players, told TSN that there are methods to overlay grass on top of turf, and that FIFAs overall costs to outfitting fields with natural grass wouldnt amount to more than a few million dollars. Wright also said that no Canadian women are among the complainants because some worry about what the CSA might do after the fact. There is some concern on the part of players of going against the soccer association, Wright said. There could be various sorts of reprisals. The CSA controls the future of these players. Georgia Trifonidis, a spokeswoman for the tribunal, said that it can take several months once an application is received for it to be referred to a mediator. Mediation can take at least several months, and if the case is not settled there, it moves to a hearing by an adjudicator. Once a final decision is made, and the adjudicator can, indeed, demand the CSA and FIFA make changes to eliminate gender discrimination, either of the parties can still file a reconsideration request with the tribunal or take the case to Ontario Superior Court. WHOLESALE NBA JERSEYS CHINA . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. WHOLESALE JERSEYS FREE SHIPPING . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. http://www.chinacheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/. Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS WHOLESALE .com) - James van Riemsdyk had two goals with one assist to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. CHEAP JERSEYS FROM CHINA . Dane Dobbie had four goals and two assists, Karsen Leung had two goals and two assists, and Matthew Dinsdale scored two and helped on another for Calgary (6-3). Shawn Evans and Jeff Shattler had eight-point games with a goal and seven assists apiece, and Jon Harnett and Geoff Snider also scored.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Winning the close ones has become a habit for the Phoenix Coyotes. So has winning at home. Antoine Vermette scored the deciding goal in the shootout for the second straight game, and the Coyotes won their fifth in a row, 3-2 over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. Vermette, who gave the Coyotes a victory at San Jose on Saturday, trickled the puck just past the line in the sixth round of this tiebreaker. Henrik Sedin lost control of the puck on his chance after Vermettes goal, and the Coyotes skated off with their third consecutive shootout win. "It was a game of inches," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said, "you see that puck just slide over the goal line." Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan scored in regulation for the Coyotes, 7-0-1 at home. Dan Hamhuis and Ryan Kesler had goals for Vancouver. Vrbata had the other shootout goal for Phoenix. Alex Burrows was the only one to score in the tiebreaker for the Canucks. The series of close wins bodes well for the Coyotes, Doan said. "You get on a roll and you have confidence in a tight game," he said. "It makes a huge difference. Its a mental thing. The more confident we get, the better off were going to be." Winning at home also is a good sign if Phoenix is to be a contender. "If you look at all the teams that have a chance to win or be playoff teams, they all have a good home record," Tippett said. "So thats something weve talked about as a group, and we have to continue to push that. If we can establish a real good home feel and make this a hard place for teams to come and play, I think that carries over to your road record, too." Vancouver, which had won five of six, took the lead with two goals in the first 4:15 of the second period. Only 25 seconds in, Hamhuis scored with a wrist shot just after a faceoff in the Coyotes zone. The puck sailed to the left of goalie Mike Smith and into the nnet.dddddddddddd The go-ahead goal came on a power play with 15:45 left in the period, a sharp slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line by Kesler for his ninth goal of the season. Phoenix tied it 2-2 with 2:21 left in the period when Doan slammed a one-timer past goalie Robert Luongo on a pass from Keith Yandle. "Thats just a great play by Keith Yandle," Doan said. "Not too many (defencemen) in our league would make that play. Most would just step into that and shoot that. Were fortunate weve got some guys back there that drive our whole offence." Vancouver coach John Tortorella blamed himself for Doans goal. "I tried to stretch my bench, and I shouldnt have," he said. "You can put that on me. I shouldnt have had my fourth line out there." The Coyotes were called for too many men on the ice during a line change in the final minute of the second period, but killed the penalty that stretched into the first minute of the third. The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead just 1:15 into the game when Vrbata tipped in a goal after a deflection of Martin Hanzals shot. Phoenix had two quick chances for more with a pair of early power plays, the first when Sedin drew a penalty for hooking, the second on a slashing call against Kesler. But the Canucks, among the best in the NHL in penalty-killing this season, shut down both opportunities. The Coyotes had a couple of good opportunities during the first power play and none on the second. Smith, who had 48 saves at San Jose, made 31 against Vancouver. Luongo stopped 30 shots. NOTES: Phoenix defenceman Derek Morris left in the first period with a lower body injury. ... All six of Vrbadas goals have come at home. ... Phoenixs Zbynek Michalek played in his 600th NHL game. ... The Coyotes only loss at home was on Oct. 15 in overtime against Ottawa. ... Vancouver opened a four-game trip with stops ahead in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. ' ' '