AH, the land of the free (time, lots of it) and the home of the brave (so long as they have legal backing) strikes again.
Literally. The National Football League in the USA has had the threat of no games raised for the first time since 1987 after “billionaire owners and millionaire players could not agree on how to divide US$9 billion (NZ$12.1 billion) in annual revenues” and locked out players.
As with anything litigious in the USA, this has a sting in the large tail. Players, as a result of the negotiations breaking down, are able to file anti-trust lawsuits against the NFL, a move which could cost NFL owners three times the amount of the “perceived wrong” if a judge finds in favour of the players.
Why can’t they all just get along? I mean, after all, even Ben Fouhy has kinda made up with the national kayaking squad.  
Then I remembered. Nearly every club rugby season opens with me saying at some point “Dear, could you please draft a letter…”
Having a litigator as a wife does have its uses.  While we are far less litigious than the USA, there is an increasing use of mediators, litigators, arbitrators, with the corresponding increase in obfuscators, procrastinators and fascinators.  OK, so that last one was made up.  There’s nothing about sporting litigation to fascinate – but it has that vicarious appeal of a car crash or house fire…people will slow down, point a bit, and maybe take some photos.
We should perhaps thank our imaginary friend in the sky that we aren’t as quick to sue.  For one thing, it’s expensive.  Secondly, here the rewards of a successful case are pathetic in comparison to the States.  As an example, say I sued the NZRFU for wrecking the grassroots game.  If by some unbelievable chance I won, I might have the judge force them to pay my costs and write me a letter saying “Sorry.”
In the USA, if I won a similar case, the jury would probably award me something like a few million (probably into the hundreds of millions if I could convince a few others into a class action).
That’s because we’re realists – even if we are sheep.  Nope, legal action in sport in New Zealand extends only as far as a bit of employment law here and there, the odd breach of contract here and there (mainly by sponsors), and the odd bit of civil litigation over an obscure governance issue.
I still remember when Finnigan v NZRFU in 1985 stopped the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa.  Rugby journalists at the time were stupefied as to how the courts could get involved in stopping a rugby tour.  
When there’s a will, there’s a way, and when there’s no other way, it always helps to get a few lawyers on board.
As I said, we are lucky that we are not a particularly litigious lot when it comes to sport.  However, I would still like to see the NZRFU tried for crimes against club rugby, and I’m sure civil litigators could find their general demeanour to the game is anti-competitive (how can they own all the Kiwi Super 15 franchises and not be anti-competitive?)
Hang on…”dear, could you please draft me a letter?”  After all, it worked for Paddy Finnigan and Phil Recordon in 1985…