Players agree to decertify union

NHL players have given their union the go-ahead to begin the process through which antitrust action can be taken against the league, TSN reported Friday. The network said there was overwhelming agreement to permit the union to decertify, although the report said the players had set a deadline of Jan. 2 for such action to take place. A decertification threat could serve to break the logjam in negotiations that have thus far failed to end a three-month lockout of NHL players. NBA players used a similar tactic during last year's lockout and a new collective bargaining agreement was reached in less than 2 weeks. Friday's report came one day after the NHL said it would cancel all games through Jan. 14. More than half the planned schedule has been wiped out by the lockout along with the All-Star Game and the Winter Classic.