Penguin Player sign on in question over contract dispute with Russia By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press A Russian hockey club filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday against the NHL and the Pittsburgh Penguins, saying rookie Evgeni Malkin shouldn’t be allowed to play in the league because he remains under contract in his native country. The Metallurg Magnitogorsk hockey club, which filed the lawsuit in U.S District Court in Manhattan, also demanded unspecified damages from the NHL and the Penguins over Malkin’s deal to jump teams this summer. NHLspokesman Frank Brown said he hadn’t seen a copy of the complaint and couldn’t comment Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan said the team hadn’t received the lawsuit and doesn’t com m e on litigation. The 20-year old Malkin left Malkin, of Russia, wants to play with the Penguins, but is in a contract dispute with Russia the Russian Super League team during August’s training camp in Helsinki, Finland, slipping quietly into the United States to begin his NHL career. In his debut Wednesday night, Malkin scored his team’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Malkin was under contract for another year in Russia. The NHL had previously said the league believes any player should have the right to choose where he wants to play as long as he is legally free to do so, After Malkin left his Russian team, he cited a Russian labor law that permits an employee to leave a job by giving two weeks notice. The lawsuit, filed after a Russian arbitration panel ruled that Malkin is still under contract to Magnitogorsk, said the signing of Malkin to an NHL contract was a “blatant and deliberate tampering and interference” with the Russian team’s existing agreement. In the lawsuit, the team said the Penguins knew or should have known that Malkin was under contract to a Russian team when they signed him. The lawsuit said the NHL and the Penguins violated antitrust laws by conspiring in a group boycott and refusing to deal with Russian hockey clubs regarding player transfers. Malkin and Magnitogorsk signed a one-year contract on Aug. 7, calling for Malkin to receive $3.45 million, according to the lawsuit. It said the contract was negotiated and signed in the presence ofMalkin’s Russian agent and his parents, and provided favorable terms allowing him to become a free agent a year sooner than an earlier contract. Malkin, the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NHL draft, missed the early part of the NHL season after dislocating a shoulder in his first preseason game. The lawsuit said the NHL and its clubs have “decided to play Photo courtesy of Gooql* fmagdS hardball” with Russian hockey clubs to punish them for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s rejection of a new general agreement governing the transfer of foreign players to the NHL. It said the NHL told its clubs on Aug. 2 that they were free to sign NHL contracts with Russian hockey players already under contract with Russian hockey clubs if the players secured releases according to Russian labor law. FBI makes arrest on NFL stadium By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press A Wisconsin grocery store clerk surrendered Friday on charges in an Internet hoax threatening a “dirty bomb” plot against U.S. football stadiums and told prosecutors he had posted the same message about 40 times over the past few weeks, federal authorities said. Jake J. Brahm, of Wauwatosa, Wis., surrendered to the U.S. Marshal’s Service on Friday morning and was scheduled to appear in court in Milwaukee later in the day. He was charged in sealed criminal complaint filed Thursday in Newark, U.S. The NY Giants stadium was one of the buildings targeted in the hoax done by Brahm of Wis. The internet based hoax, claiming that stadiums would be car bombed, was posted as many as 40 times over the course of nearly a month. Attorney Christopher Christiesaid. One of the seven stadiums allegedly targeted was Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Christie said Brahm admitted that between September and Wednesday he had posted the same threat about 40 times on various Web sites. “These types of hoaxes scare innocent people, cost business resources and waste valuable homeland security resources. We cannot tolerate this Internet version of yelling fire in a crowded theater in the post-9/11 era,” Christie said. Brahm was first taken into custody by police in Wauwatosa on THE CAPITAL TIMES in terrorism threats internet hoax Wednesday based on information authorities received that he was the source of the Internet threat, federal authorities said. FBI agents interviewed him that night, and the FBI said Thursday it had determined the threat was a hoax A joint statement from the FBI and Homeland Security Department said fans “should be reassured of their security as they continue to attend sporting events this weekend.” An FBI official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation, told The Associated Press that the man acknowledged posting the phony stadium threat as part of a “writing duel” with a man from the Brownsville, Texas, area to see who could post the scariest threat. The Texas man corroborated the story, the official said. The threat, dated Oct. 12, appeared on the Web site “The Friend Society,” which links to various online forums October 23, 2006 and off-color cartoons. Its author, identified in the message as “javness,” said trucks would deliver radiological bombs Sunday to stadiums in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, Oakland, Calif., and the New 7 York City area, and that Osama bin Laden would claim responsibility. The agency alerted authorities Wednesday in the cities mentioned, as well as the NFL and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. But the FBI and Homeland Photo courtesy of Google Images Natural Foods, a co-op near his house, said Jeremy Layman, assistant store manager. He said Brahm made his shifts on time and was not a concern “He was a normal guy. That’s all we’re going to say at this time,” Layman said. Erik Vasys, spokesman with the FBI in San Antonio, said there Would be no charges against the Texas man. “1 was advised he interacted with this gentleman in Milwaukee, just downloaded some things, but he was not part of the hoax writing,” Vasys said. Security there was intelligence indicating such an attack might be imminent NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said stadiums are well protected through “comprehensive security procedures” that include bag searches and pat- downs Relatives Brahm to declined comment Friday. Brahm worked as a grocery clerk at Outpost
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