Nine former NHL players filed major class action lawsuits against the National Hockey League in a U.S. District Court on Thursday, alleging that the league has generated billions of dollars while subjecting its players to the imminent risk of head trauma leading to devastating and long-term negative health consequences. The players in the suit - Dan LaCouture, Dan Keczmer, Jack Carlson, Richard Brennan, Brad Maxwell, Mike Peluso, Tom Younghans, Allan Rourke and Scott Bailey - are represented by Robbins Geller, the firm that won over $7 billion for victims of the 2001 Enron fraud. "As opposed to other elite-level ice hockey organizations, like the European ice hockey leagues and the Olympics, the NHL fostered and promoted an extremely physical game of ice hockey," read the complaint. "Through enclosed rink designs and lax rules for fighting, the NHL vectored a culture of extreme violence and packaged the spoils to adoring fans. "The NHL has failed and continues to fail to warn its players of these risks and consequences of head trauma, concealing material scientific and anecdotal information from its players. The NHL has failed to institute policies and protocols that could have and will protect its players from suffering or exacerbating head trauma sustained during practice or in games. "Specifically, despite the fact that the NHLs violent game design induces head trauma, including concussions, the NHL has failed and continues to fail to warn its players of the risks to their lives and the devastating and long-term negative health effects. In fact, the NHL affirmatively concealed specific anecdotal evidence from players and scientific evidence about the health risks and consequences associated with playing in the NHL, including head injuries. To maintain its billions in revenue, the NHL also purposefully failed to institute policies and protocols that would protect its players from exacerbating injuries sustained during practice or in games." The NHL will release a statement on Thursday afternoon addressing the lawsuits. More to follow. Andres Guardado Jersey . Mired in an offensive slump, Lowry - the NBAs leader in taking charges this season - did what he has learned to do best, standing his ground and drawing a crucial offensive foul on the Cavaliers all-star point guard. Fast forward 30 seconds to the Cavs next possession, with the home team still trailing by three, Spencer Hawes - one of the leagues best passing big men - threw an interception, intended for Tyler Zeller and picked off by DeMar DeRozan. Jesus Molina Jersey . 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Carroll, looking for his second straight title, is a high-fiving, fist-bumping extrovert who started one of his news conferences this week with a welcoming, Whats up?!?Different styles have produced similar results, though.Belichick is making his sixth Super Bowl appearance as a head coach and his Patriots are as close as there is to a dynasty in the current NFL. Carrolls team is being mentioned as a possible dynasty, as well, and that notion will only gain steam if the Seahawks win Sunday and become the first back-to-back champions since, who else?, New England in 2003-04.Dissimilar as they are, they have both built their teams on a foundation of unflinching candour inside their locker and meeting rooms — a quality Carroll brings to some of his public speaking, but one that Belichick eschews.What you see on TV is what you get, pretty much, from the two, said Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner, who previously played for Carroll in Seattle. They have similarities too, though. Their football IQ is way up there. They are so different, but at the same time theyre the same. Thats why they both have succeeded at this level.Over his 15 years in New England, Belichick has made it increasingly difficult for anyone outside of Patriots Nation to love him. Nobody likes a boring cheater, and that is how hes sometimes portrayed. Its all summed up in his handling of the controversy of Super Bowl week — Deflategate — a subject he has refused to talk about since Saturday, when he held a news conference to deny wrongdoing and announce he was moving on. Were just focused on Seattle this week, hes said, repeating some version of that time and again.A much fuller picture of the coach was painted in the 2013 NFL Network production A Football Life, which gave an inside and genuinely absorbing look at the coach — miked up and behind the scenes during what turned out to be a disappointing 2009 season.Hard not to get choked up about it, Belichick said, barely controlling the tears as he toured his old stomping grounds, the old Giants Stadium, where he won his first two Super Bowl rings as New Yorks defensive co--ordinator.ddddddddddddI spent a lot of hours in that room.One trait his old boss, Bill Parcells, turned into an art was figuring out how to get the most from each of his players by treating them individually.Its not a trait Belichick shares, at least in the sense that no one seems to get the Superstar Treatment in New England: High-priced cornerback Darrelle Revis got sent home one day for being late for a meeting. Jonas Gray ran for 201 yards in a win against Indianapolis but has barely been heard from again after showing up late for a meeting.Hes done a good job of treating everybody fairly, treating everybody the same, said Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich. If something goes wrong, he makes sure we know about it. Its all about knowing how to get the best out of everybody.Carroll does the same thing — just differently.Quirky as they come, he once said a book that guided many of his core philosophies was, The Inner Game of Tennis, a 1974 self-help manuscript by W. Timothy Callwey that is about finding the state of relaxed concentration that helps you play your best.Its also about tennis, but the stuff really resonated, Carroll said in an interview while he was coaching Southern California.In keeping with the touchy-feely theme, he has repeatedly made it clear this week that he respects the individuality of his players — from Richard Sherman, who is willing to speak on just about everything, to Marshawn Lynch, who doesnt want to talk about anything.The coachs willingness to bend, however, does not mean he deviates from the consistent routine he established when he came to Seattle after nine years at USC. Wednesdays are Competition Wednesdays. Thursdays are Turnover Thursdays. And so on.Hes got a philosophy he stays true to, said offensive line coach Tom Cable. For a lot of us whove coached a long time, weve been around a lot of great teachers, but their philosophies can go up and down. For him, hes the way he is every day.Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who hired Carroll back in 1997, then Belichick in 2000, called his former coach, pretty special to be around. A lot of fun.He feels he set Carroll back by not giving him the full control he wanted, and the owner adjusted his style when he made the next hire.Everyone benefited: Belichick and the Patriots — and Carroll and Seattle.Theres no big mystery to all this coaching success, Belichick insists.Its about players making the plays that your team needs to win, he said. I think as a coach, you want to make sure you dont screw that up.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ' ' '