Hockey is to Minnesota like oil is to Texas, a valuable natural resource for the state. Mining for hockey players, as opposed to oil, is a somewhat different process although, as every aspiring competitor knows, drilling is very much part of both processes.
Money is too.
This may be at the root of the intense competition for intense competitors that has made its way to U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in the form of an antitrust lawsuit before U.S. Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.). Plaintiff is a for-profit organization. Defendants, non-profit. Defendants sought dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing that their non-profit status took them out of federal antitrust laws (and making other arguments, as well). Yesterday, Judge Tunheim bought some but not all of Defendants’ arguments, dismissing some but not all defendants, some but not all of plaintiffs’ claims against the remaining defendants.