THIS IS BREAKING NEWS… NHLPA interim ombudsman “Buzz” Hargrove has resigned effectively immediately. According to Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal via Twitter, Hargrove said, "Under current circumstances, I can not perform duties of ombudsman." There had been several reports, including this one from TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger via Twitter, that Hargrove was going to be voted out of the position and that Hargrove was going to resign before that time. Today may have well been that move, although Hargrove said, "I had no worry of being forced out." Hargrove said surveillance by the NHLPA’s review committee made it impossible to carry out duties outlined in NHLPA constitution. That committee is comprised Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom, former Wing, and current AHL Chicago Wolves Chris Chelios, Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi, and San Jose Sharks captain Rob Blake. That committee is currently looking into the dismissal Paul Kelly, the former Executive Director of the NHLPA that was fired in late August. Since Kelly’s firing, the NHLPA has fallen into almost complete disarray. The review committee was assembled to investigate the Kelly firing, but since its assembly, several key members of the NHLPA have resigned citing many of the same issues that Hargrove has mentioned, the highest ranking member being Ian Penny, the longtime NHLPA General Counsel who was voted in as interim Executive Director after Kelly’s firing. At the end of October, the review committee installed Union Counsel Mike Ouellet as acting Executive Director, and that Roland Lee was named General Counsel to replace Ouellet on an interim basis. There have been repeated questions as to whether the review committee had the right to install Ouellet based upon the NHLPA’s constitution. OTHER NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK (THE BIZ OF BASEBALL) J.J. Putz, Carl Pavano Enter Free Agency Dye, Putz, Kearns Just Some Players in Free Agency as Clubs Decline Options Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez Highlight 39 Players Filing for Free Agency on Friday Reds Minor Leaguer Suspended 50 Games for PEDs Reasons for Not Having a Salary Cap in MLB Are Numerous (THE BIZ OF FOOTBALL) Boise St. Engages PR Firm in Attempt to Gain BCS Game Does the NFL Salary Cap Still Work? Browns Fire GM George Kokinis After 1-7 Start UFL Failing to Dazzle at the Turnstiles (THE BIZ OF BASKETBALL) Timberwolves File Lawsuit Against AEG Over Target Center Signage Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Settles For $2.725M in Housing Discrimination Lawsuit NBA.TV Adds Brent Barry to On-Air Talent Roster (SPORTS BASH) Rumor: Liberty Media Backing Out of Purchase of Bodybuilding.com After FDA Raid Sammy Sosa Proves Being a Metrosexual Has Its Consequences Key Off-Season Dates on MLB’s Calendar (and notes about them) Nationals Front Office Latest to See Pink Slips Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Follow Maury Brown on Twitter Follow The Biz of Hockey on Twitter Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook