OTTAWA -- The House of Commons has passed a bill legalizing contact sports such as mixed martial arts. The legislation, which originated in the Senate, takes certain fighting sports, including taekwondo and karate as well as the popular sport of MMA, out of legal limbo. The sports were not technically covered under prize-fighting law, making it difficult to regulate them and protect the safety of fighters. The bill passed the Commons easily with 267 members of parliament in favour and only nine opposed. The Criminal Code section on prize-fighting was last changed in 1934, long before the rise of the new fighting sports. Section 83.1 of the Criminal Code only exempted boxing. The section said anyone who "engages as a principal in a prize fight," encourages, promotes or is present at a prize fight as an aid, second, surgeon, umpire, backer or reporter is guilty of an offence -- unless the "boxing contest" is "held with the permission or under the authority of an athletic board or commission or similar body established by or under the authority of the legislature of a province for the control of sport within the province." The section also allowed "a boxing contest between amateur sportsmen, where the contestants wear boxing gloves of not less than one hundred and forty grams each in mass." Some jurisdictions ignored the antiquated wording of the law. The UFC, the largest promoter of MMA fighting, lobbied for the legislative change. As it has done in the U.S., the UFC has pushed for government to sanction the sport. "This is a major development for the sport of mixed martial arts as we now have a consistent legislative framework for Canada and its provinces," Tom Wright, the UFCs director of Canadian operations, said in a statement. Liberal Massimo Pacetti, who supported the bill, said its an important move. "We are laying the groundwork for the general acceptance of these sports across the country," he said during the debate. Supporters say MMA bouts are no more dangerous than boxing matches. Others say they may be safer, because MMA fighters can quit when they want, while boxers tend to fight until theres a knockout or the referee steps in. Since 2008, the UFC has hosted 12 Canadian events split between Montreal (six), Toronto (three), Vancouver (two) and Calgary (one). Winnipeg is set to host UFC 161 on June 15. The Edmonton-based Maximum Fighting Championship is the largest Canadian promoter. In most jurisdictions, MMA is regulated by the same athletic bodies that oversee boxing. 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The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season.MIAMI -- There were no miracles from Tony Parker in Game 2. And there wasnt much of anything from star teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Unstoppable for so much of this post-season, the San Antonio point guard was all bottled up in a 103-84 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 that evened the series Sunday night. Parker scored only 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting and had five assists. It was an unusually quiet night for a player who was at the top of his game in leading the Spurs to their first finals appearance since 2007 and helped win Game 1 with a leaning bank shot with 5.2 seconds left. "They were really aggressive, obviously," Parker said about a Heat team determined not to go down 0-2 in this best-of-seven series. "You have to give a lot of credit to their defence. They played great defence tonight. They were very aggressive on the pick-and-rolls and all our drives." Parker also turned the ball over five times after having zero in his sterling Game 1 performance. Duncan had nine points on 3-for-13 shooting, and Ginobili had five points and missed four of his six shots. "For sure Tim, Tony and me have to step up and play much better," Ginobili said. "We have basically no shot of winning against them if none of us play good. We have to play better." Game 3 is Tuesday night in San Antonio. Parker entered the game averaging 22.9 points and 7.1 assists for the playoffs and fresh off another scintillating performance to open pursuit of the franchises fifth championship. He scored 21 points and had five assists, and had the shot of the game -- and maybe these playoffs -- when he went down to one knee, got up, pivoted around LeBron James and stepped through for a 16-foot jumper with a split-second left on the shot clock to hold off the Heat. After two days off, the weary defending champions seemed to have a little extra jump in their step, especially on the perimeter. Mario Chalmers, who also scored 19 points, said he was determined to not let Parker slice and dice the Heat defence in the pick-and-roll like he did so many times in Game 1. "My main focus is to stop Tony Parker," Chalmers said. "Thats my job, to not let him get going.dddddddddddd" Parker missed five of his first seven shots, and he didnt get much help from the other two of San Antonios Big 3. Ginobili picked up three quick fouls in the first half that limited his playing time and Duncan didnt have any of the same success against a rejuvenated Chris Bosh that he did in Game 1. Duncan had 20 points and 11 rebounds in that victory, but Bosh had 12 points, 10 boards, four assists and three steals in Game 2. "I look at my shots and they are the shots I want," Duncan said. "Obviously they are contested shots, but theyre the shots I feel I can make. So whether it be them or me or whatever it may be, Im going to get back in the gym tomorrow and hopefully come out with a better stroke." Spurs coach Gregg Popovich threw his hands up when asked what changed for his three leaders between the first game and the second. "Defence has something to do with it. Missing shots has something to do with it," Popovich said. "But any way you slice it, its 10 for 33." Thanks to 17 points from Danny Green on 6-for-6 shooting, the Spurs led 62-61 with under four minutes to play in the third quarter. Thats when the Heat turned it on, ripping off a staggering 33-5 run that sent American Airlines Arena into a frenzy. The Spurs couldnt find a sliver of daylight to run their usually precise offence, and Parker had nowhere to go against a host of Heat defenders. After tying a finals record with four turnovers in the first game, the Spurs committed 17 on Sunday night, which led to 19 points for the Heat. "We just couldnt find answers tonight," Parker said. After James threw down a soaring dunk to cap Miamis incredible surge and give Miami a 91-67 lead, Popovich pulled his three stars, and they watched the rest of the game from the bench, a golden opportunity to take a commanding lead vaporized in a flash. "We were expecting to do better," Ginobili said. "Thats the frustrating part. Of course you look at the result and being 1-1 is not bad. You dont want to play like this in the NBA Finals. You dont want to give them confidence and have you feeling bad about yourself." ' ' '