referee Vic Drakulich stopped the bout before even counting

PHOENIX -- Voters in Glendale can go ahead with a referendum on a lease agreement between the city and the prospective owner of the Phoenix Coyotes after a judge invalidated one section of the ordinance. NFL Jerseys Wholesale. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dean Fink on Tuesday asked attorneys for the city and conservative watchdog group Goldwater Institute to rewrite a section of the ordinance to show that it was not passed as an emergency measure. He is expected to issue a ruling on Goldwaters attempt to invalidate the entire ordinance soon. Residents now have 30 days from the June 8 Glendale City Council vote to gather signatures for a public referendum on the agreement. Ken Jones, one of two Glendale residents being represented by the Goldwater Institute, said he plans to start collecting signatures for a referendum as soon as possible. "Weve already won something; we know we can have a referendum now," said Jones, a plaintiff in the case along with Joe Cobb. "That will give the citizens of Glendale a chance to speak. Theyve never had that before." Glendales City Council voted 4-2 in favour of the 20-year, $325 million lease agreement for city-owned Jobing.com Arena with former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison, whos heading a ownership group that has a tentative agreement to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL. Goldwater, which had thwarted previous attempts to sell the team, filed a lawsuit last week to invalidate the vote, claiming the city failed to hold open bidding for arena management, as per its charter, and didnt have the necessary votes to put the ordinance into effect immediately. Language within the ordinance called for it to be an emergency measure, which would have allowed it to go into effect the day of the vote. But since an emergency measure must be approved by five of the seven council members and the vote was 4-2 -- one member was absent -- that portion of the ordinance was nullified. Though the ordinance was signed with the emergency measure still in it, Glendales attorneys argued that there was no need to clarify it since legally it was a moot point without enough support from the council. Fink agreed, but he still asked attorneys from both sides to come up with language to clarify that it was not an emergency order. He said he will make a decision on wording for the rewritten portion of the ordinance if the two sides cant agree. "There was a request that I invalidate the entire ordinance," Fink said. "Im only willing to say section 7 is inoperable." A central issue in Goldwaters lawsuit was bidding for arena management. The lease agreement between Jamison and the city calls for his group to run the arena at a cost of about $15 million per year. Goldwater argued the agreement contradicts Glendales charter because there was no open bidding for arena management. Attorney Gary Birnbaum, representing Glendale, countered that open bidding was not required because arena management is considered a professional service, exempted under the charter because a limited number of people can do it. Goldwater argued that arena management did not require specific training and Fink asked Birnbaum to clarify what the city considers a professional service, noting that any job could fit that category if someone threw the word "professional" in front of it. Birnbaum half-scolded Fink by telling him no twice, explaining that Jamison was the only person who could buy the team, keep it in Arizona and run the arena. He added that Jamison signed a non-relocation agreement that would require him to pay $350 million should he move the team. "The NHL has been searching for three years to find an owner and Mr. Jamison is the ONLY person who can do it," Birnbaum said. "Anything else is speculative. There really is only one person and that is the prospective owner." At its board of governors meeting in Las Vegas, the NHL formally approved the sale of the Toronto Maple Leafs to Rogers Communications, Inc., and BCE, Inc. The league also made rules changes regarding hand passes. Players who put their hand over the puck in their own zone or use their hand to win a faceoff will now get minor penalties. Mike Miller Jersey. The July 21 bout at Scotiabank Saddledome is Aldos second title defence in Canada. The 25-year-old from Rio de Janeiro defeated Mark Hominick last year in Toronto and is on a 14-fight winning streak. Wholesale Jerseys China. -- Hours after a man contended in a lawsuit that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused him more than 100 times, Penn State leaders pledged to raise ethics "to a new level" on a campus coming to grips with the shocking criminal allegations against the schools once-revered assistant football coach. Udonis Haslem jersey. Danis made 31 saves in his first appearance of the season, and Dainius Zubrus scored with 1:26 left to lead the Devils to their sixth consecutive road victory, 2-1 over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Mario Chalmers jersey. The hard-hitting Brazilian is 7-0 in the UFC and only three of his opponents have made it out of the first round. The bookmakers are not giving Cote much of a chance to blot that mixed martial arts record, although some fighters believe Cotes standup skills give him a shot at the Allstate Arena (available on pay-per-view). Dirk Nowitzki Jersey. With a new physical coach and a new attitude, a relaxed Henin has arrived in Eastbourne to hone her preparations on grass for another assault on the Wimbledon title next week.LAS VEGAS - Speed has been Manny Pacquiaos specialty ever since he was a scrawny 106-pound teenage brawler. When he stepped in the ring weighing 135 pounds on Saturday night, even his trainer wondered whether Pacquiao would lose some of his splendid speed with all that extra bulk. That theory evaporated with one look at David Diazs lacerated, bloody face, even before it hit the canvas in the ninth round. Not only did Pacquiao keep his pace while winning the WBC lightweight title with a ninth-round knockout, he got stronger along the way. What a frightening thought for the rest of the talented lightweight division. "I feel much, much stronger and more powerful at 135," said Pacquiao, the first Asian boxer to win title belts at four weights. "This is where I plan to stay. I did real well. I was really surprised it wasnt stopped sooner." After winning a recognized championship fight at his fifth weight - including a nontitle victory over 126-pound king Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 - Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) definitely has the credentials to qualify as boxings mythical pound-for-pound champion. His lightweight debut at the Mandalay Bay Events Center was every bit as action-packed as his long history of brawls at lower weights - and like most of Pac-Mans victims, Diaz (34-2-1) just couldnt keep that ferocious pace. Pacquiao was relentless with his right hook, apparently capitalizing on something seen by trainer Freddie Roach in Diazs defence. "It was his speed," said Diaz, the game but overmatched champion. "It was all his speed. I could see the punches perfectly, but he was just too fast. He boxed me more than I thought he was going to box. I said to Freddie, Its the best Ive ever seen him box. Freddie said, Me too. That was our game plan." Three months ago, Juan Manuel Marquez stretched Pacquiao to the limit before losing a split decision in the same ring in perhaps the years best bout so far. Pacquiao took much less punishment this time while winning every round on every judges scorecard, but Diaz was remarkably tenacious in the face of nonstop attacks - until Pacquiao sneaked home a left hand that dropped Diaz to the canvas. Diaz, the likable but unlikely champion from Chicago, knew he faced long odds - 4-to-1 at fight time - in his second title defence. The former U.S. Olympian hung in despite severe cuts and weary legs that wobbled with each of Pacquiaos big punches. Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale "His punches are just too fast," Diaz told his corner after the sixth round. Diazs face was dripping blood by then, and both fighters white trunks were shaded pink by the eighth, when Pacquiao battered Diaz relentlessly. After Pacquiaos decisive punch in the ninth, referee Vic Drakulich stopped the bout before even counting to 10. Pacquiao tugged on Diazs arm in compassion before leaping onto the ropes in celebration. Pacquiao threw 788 punches to Diazs 463, also landing 10 per cent more of his blows. Pacquiao jabbed well, with remarkable discipline for an instinctual brawler, but Diaz was hurt most by the 180 power shots that connected. Pacquiao started fighting as a scrawny 16-year-old in the Philippines, but he grew into a dynamic competitor who won world titles at 112, 122 and 130 pounds. Few of those victories gave Roach more pleasure than this disciplined effort. "That was beautiful," Roach said. "The game plan was not to stand and trade, because Diaz is too dangerous. The plan was to go in and out, outbox him, do what Manny does best. He did everything that we asked him to do." Some think Pacquiaos next move could be to bulk up five more pounds for a wildly lucrative fight with Englands most popular plugger, Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao seems more likely to stick around to fight other lightweights - perhaps 130-pound champion Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto, who lost a curious disqualification Saturday in an undercard bout. "I can fight in November," Pacquiao said. "Who I fight is the job of my promoter (Bob Arum)." Pacquiao has made his career on a series of exciting brawls with the best Mexican fighters of the post-Julio Cesar Chavez era, going 5-1-1 against Barrera, Erik Morales and Marquez, who lost a supermodel-thin split decision to Pacquiao last March. Meanwhile, Diaz has made a career out of defying meager expectations, starting with two surprising victories over Zab Judah for a spot on the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. After quitting the sport for nearly two years early in this decade, Diaz earned his title nearly two years ago in a stunning 10th-round knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Mandalay Bay was filled largely with Filipino fans, including an overly optimistic man whose sign read, "Pac-Man, Marry Me!" ' ' '