METAIRIE, La. -- The NFL Players Association confirmed Wednesday that it filed a grievance on behalf of Jimmy Graham concerning the Saints tight ends franchise tag designation. At issue is whether the NFL was correct to apply the tight end tag to Graham or whether Graham should have received the more lucrative wide receiver tag, a difference of $5 million. The NFLs current collective bargaining agreement states that a player should be tagged according to the position at which he lined up most often. Graham and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, are contending that the frequency with which Graham lined up split out from the line merits the $12.3 million receivers franchise tag, not the $7 million tight end tag. No date for a grievance hearing has been set, but the filing alone could provide Graham with a measure of additional leverage as he seeks to have his franchise tag designation removed in favour of a long-term extension. July 15 is the final day a team can sign 2014 franchise players to long-term extensions. Grahams agent, Jimmy Sexton, did not return a message seeking comment on the matter. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday there had been no progress to report on negotiations with Graham. The Saints have asserted that lining up split from the line is a significant part of every tight ends job description. When asked in January whether the Saints viewed Graham as a tight end under the leagues CBA, Loomis responded: "Isnt that what we drafted him as? Isnt that what he made the Pro Bowl as? Thats what we see him as -- a tight end. "The tight end has always been part of the passing game," Loomis continued. "Hes part of the running game. So hes part of both. So are receivers. So are running backs." According to an analysis by ESPN Stats and Information, Graham lined up split out from the line on 67 per cent of his snaps -- 45 per cent of the time in the slot and 22 per cent out wide. Unless the Saints and Graham pre-emptively agree on a long-term deal, an arbitrator may have to decide whether those numbers alone, under the language of the CBA, would require the league to apply the receiver designation to Graham. If so, it likely would set a precedent for negotiations involving other tight ends who figure prominently in their teams passing games, and could substantially lower the franchise tag number for tight ends who more often line up next to offensive tackles. It could also affect other positions in which players have varying roles, most notably some outside linebackers in a 3-4 defensive scheme, who could argue their right to receive the higher defensive end tag. CM Punk Jersey . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. 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"I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins hope to rebound from a loss in the opener of the Eastern Conference second round series when they host the rival New York Rangers in Sundays Game 2 from CONSOL Energy Center. New York placed second in the Metropolitan Division this season, finishing 13 points behind the Penguins, but the Rangers were able to strike first in this best-of-seven set, taking Game 1 by a 3-2 score in overtime. Derick Brassard scored at 3:06 of the extra session to lift the Rangers to victory, although the end of the game was far from conventional. Brassard knew he scored off a feed from Benoit Pouliot, but the game went on. Seconds later, with the Penguins still scrambling around in their zone, Brassard set up Pouliot for what appeared to be the winning goal. However, the original shot by Brassard was reviewed and showed the puck clearly going underneath the crossbar and inside the left post. Because the puck sprung back out so quickly, it wasnt evident that it was a good goal and play continued, albeit momentarily. "It was all (Pouliots) play," Brassard said. "First of all, he cut (off) the pass behind the net and right away he found me in front of the net. At first, I thought it went in. I thought it went under the bar and the ref said it wasnt in. The puck came back to me and (Pouliot) was open. It was a great feeling." New York opened a playoff series with an OT win for the first time since Game 1 of the Patrick Division Finals on Apr. 17, 1986 at Washington . The Blueshirts have won eight of the last 10 playoff series in which they won Game 1, including four of the last six playoff series in which they won Game 1 on the road. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for the Rangers, including one on Lee Stempniak in the final 11 seconds of regulation. New York won a Game 7 at home against Philadelphia on Wednesday to advance to the second round for the third consecutive year.dddddddddddd The Flyers and Rangers had played Game 6 in Philly on Tuesday, so Fridays tilt was New Yorks third test in three different cities over the span of four days. When the Rangers host Pittsburgh in Game 3 on Monday it will mark five games in seven days for New York. Despite New Yorks recent workload and the fact that the Penguins had three days off ahead of Fridays opener, the home club was the team that looked flat for large stretches of Game 1. "For whatever reason, we didnt come out hard enough," said Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby. "I thought those goals in the second definitely gave us a boost. I thought from there on we had some good chances. Pretty even after that." Stempniak and James Neal scored second-period goals for Pittsburgh, which outshot the visitors by a 36-27 margin in the loss. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24-of-27 shots for the Pens after struggling at times during his teams first- round win over Columbus. "They got the first one tonight. Its disappointing, but (we) got to have a short memory," said Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. Both teams were 0-for-4 on the power play. The Rangers have failed to score 25 straight times with the man advantage dating back to its first-round series against Philadelphia. The Penguins have won all four previous playoff series with the Rangers. After Fridays loss, Pittsburgh fell to 16-5 all-time against New York in the postseason. Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik missed Game 1 with an undisclosed injury and he is questionable for Game 2. Orpik also sat out Game 6 against Columbus and Robert Bortuzzo could fill in for him on Sunday for a third straight game. 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