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NFL wins first round, as Brady court battle sent to New York

The NFL Players Association wanted to argue its appeal of Tom Brady's four-game suspension in federal court in Minnesota, presumably with Judge David Doty, who has ruled against the NFL in the past.

The NFL wanted to avoid Doty so badly that it filed its own case in New York, asking the court to uphold the ruling, immediately after Roger Goodell upheld Brady's suspension on Tuesday.

That tactic worked for the NFL, at least in terms of getting the venue it wanted. The case will be in New York.

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NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said on the "Dan Patrick Show" (via Pro Football Talk) that the court case the union filed in Minnesota has been moved to New York. That doesn't mean the NFLPA can't win its appeal. But one has to assume the league had good reason to so badly want the case to be heard in New York and not Minnesota. You don't secretly plan to file in New York as the commissioner drags out his decision, then rush to beat the NFLPA to the punch the moment the ruling is announced if there wasn't good reason.

And U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kyle in Minnesota, who made the ruling, seemed perturbed that the union tried to bring the case to Minnesota, seemingly only because of favorable decisions there in the past.

"The court appreciates no 'compelling circumstances' undermining application of the first-filed rule to transfer this action from Minnesota to New York, where the first action was filed. Indeed, the Court sees little reason to have been commenced in Minnesota at all. Brady plays for a team in Massachusetts; the Union is headquartered in Washington, D.C.; the NFL is headquartered in New York; the arbitration proceedings took place in New York; and the award was issued in New York. In the undersigned's view, therefore, it makes immenent sense the NFL would have commenced its action seeking confirmation of the award in the Southern District of New York. Why the instant action was filed here, however, is far less clear."

Judge Kyle also noted in the footnotes of his ruling that he "strongly suspects" the Union filed in Minnesota because "it has obtained favorable rulings from this court in the past."

Many legal experts have weighed in saying that Brady and the union face long odds to win in court against the NFL. Maybe those odds are even longer after the NFL got its preferred venue.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!