picked it up and fired home to throw out Byrd

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Pack up the pom-poms in Buffalo, because the Bills will be playing without the support of their official cheerleaders this year. Stephanie Mateczun, whose company manages the Buffalo Jills cheerleading squad, said Thursday she has suspended operations through at least the end of the season. The decision was made two days after five former Jills filed a lawsuit complaining they worked hundreds of hours for free, and were subjected to groping and sexual comments. The civil action was filed in state Supreme Court and seeks unspecified back pay and legal fees. It names Mateczuns company, Stejon Productions Corp., the Bills, and the Jills former manager, Citadel Communications Co., as defendants. Stejon took over managing the cheerleaders in 2011. Mateczun is in the process of hiring legal representation, and declined further comment. The Bills have been made aware of the Jills decision to suspend operations, but otherwise declined comment. Lawyer Frank Dolce, who represents the five cheerleaders, said the decision to suspend operations wont affect his case because it addresses past complaints. Dolce, however, did question Mateczuns motives, saying her decision to suspend the squad was unnecessary. "If they cease operations, they will blame the lawsuit for the destruction of the Jills, when that was not intended at all," Dolce said, noting there is not much money at stake in the lawsuit. "We love the Bills. We love the Jills," he said. "We do not love the travesty of its management that has occurred over the last few years." According to the Buffalo Jills Alumni website, the squad was formed in 1967, eight years after the Bills were established as founding members of the American Football League. In 1986, the Bills relinquished managing the cheerleaders to private companies. Cheerleaders have launched similar suits against the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals. The case against the Bills claims the Jills are wrongly classified as independent contractors and subjected to policies that violate the states $8 per hour minimum wage law and other workplace rules. The Jills arent paid for games or practices and have to make 20-35 appearances, most of which are unpaid, at community and charity events each season, the lawsuit said. On top of that, they have to pay $650 for their uniforms and are not reimbursed for travel or other expenses, the cheerleaders said. All five cheerleaders said they had to take a "jiggle test" so that Mateczun, Stejons president, could assess their physiques. And Mateczun, they said, controlled everything from their hair and nail polish colour to what they could post on Facebook. The time and expense, as well as rules governing their personal lives, far exceeded what they signed on for, the women said. Dolce and his clients hope their legal action leads to policy changes within the Bills organization that ensure future cheerleaders are paid and treated better. "A decision to disband the Jills as an entity is a tremendous mistake for community spirit," Dolce said. "We do not feel bad that Stejon Productions has ceased operations. We think thats a good thing. We just hope the Bills dont trivialize the Jills because of the poor management of them." Dennis Eckersley Cubs Jersey . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Joe Girardi Jersey .3 million qualifying offer to outfielder Michael Cuddyer on Monday. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2160t-robel-garcia-jersey-cubs.html . At quarterback, all agree that Andy Dalton has been a wonderful surprise, but to truly progress he has to play his best in the playoffs. 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PITTSBURGH -- San Diego Padres rookie second baseman Jedd Gyorko invited friends and family to watch him play in Pittsburgh this week, hoping he could do enough to make the hour ride up from Morgantown, W.Va., worth the trouble. Done. Gyorko had a three-run homer among his three hits and the Padres dropped the Pirates 5-2 on Tuesday night. "Its nice to get that kind of support," Gyorko said. " But I think probably every one of those people have seen me hit a home run at one time or another before, so I dont know if its a big deal to them or not." Maybe, but its a big deal to the Padres, who won for the 10th time in 14 games and put a dent in Pittsburghs pursuit of its first NL Central title. Ronny Cedeno added three hits for San Diego. Eric Stults (9-13) allowed two runs over five innings to pick up his first victory in more than two months. Stults struck out five and walked one to end a string of 10 straight winless starts. Luke Gregerson worked the ninth for his fourth save. "Its definitely good to get one," Stults said. "Its one of those things that maybe itll be a little confidence boost, Ive thrown some games where Ive had some tough luck and others where Ive put in a position to win and it just didnt happen." Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 3 and Marlon Byrd drove in both of Pittsburghs runs but the Pirates continued to have problems with the Padres. Jeff Locke (10-6) struggled with his command, allowing four runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out five and walking three as his second-half struggles reappeared. A night after Andrew Cashners fired the 19th one-hitter in Padres history behind a series of 97 mph fastballs, Stults handcuffed the Pirates with slower stuff. San Diego improved to 30-10 in Pittsburgh since the ballpark opened in 2001 as Stults and his series of slow, slower and slowest offspeed pitches to keep the Pirates off balance. At one point, he retired Pedro Alvarez on a 66 mph changeup and dropped it down to 64 mph to get Josh Harrison to ground meekly to third. It was enough to prevent one of the National Leagues top-hitting teams against left-handers from cashing in Pittsburgh tries to keep pace with St. Louis and Cincinnati in a crowded playoff race. "Everybodys aware of wherre we are, whats going on," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said "At the end of the day, we had a couple of opportunities we didnt maximize on.dddddddddddd" Locke briefly regained his All-Star form in his last start, when he handcuffed the Chicago Cubs for seven innings to pick up his first win in nearly two months. The good vibes disappeared in the third, when Gyorko took an 89 mph fastball over the middle of the plate and sent it into the bleachers in left field for his 19th homer of the season. The Pirates drew within one in the bottom of the inning thanks to a little help from San Diego right fielder Kyle Blanks, who stumbled trying to track down a sinking line drive by Byrd, allowing two runs to score. Byrd tried to tie the game one batter later when Gaby Sanchezs infield chopper was mishandled by Gyorko at second base. The ball trickled behind Gyorko but Cedeno -- who spent three mostly forgettable seasons in Pittsburgh from 2009-2011 -- picked it up and fired home to throw out Byrd as he attempted to score from second. Pittsburgh would get no closer. Cedeno singled leading off the fifth and came around to score and Pittsburghs offence disappeared against a trio of Cincinnati relievers. The Pirates managed just two base runners over the final four innings, with Cedeno providing a highlight play from deep shortstop against Byrd in the eighth to provide an exclamation point as Pittsburgh stumbled again. "It feels good to come in and contribute," Cedeno said. "That is why they signed me, to help win some ballgames and I feel like Ive been able to do that both with my glove and with my bat." NOTES: Pittsburgh outfielder Starling Marte went 1 for 3 in his first start since suffering a contusion to his right index finger on Aug. 18 ... Pittsburgh C Russell Martin caught his major league-leading 29th base stealer in the ninth when he nailed Will Venable at second ... Padres LHP Cory Luebke will be examined by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tim Kremchek in Cincinnati later this week. Luebke has been shut down for the season as he attempts to come back from Tommy John surgery in May 2012 ... The series continues on Wednesday when Pittsburghs Charlie Morton (7-4, 3.54 ERA) faces San Diegos Tyson Ross (3-8, 3.29 ERA). ' ' '