on the rise, a new TV contract is set to be negotiated in 20

NAPLES, Fla. -- Defending champions Kenny Perry and Sean OHair shot an 8-under 64 in modified alternate-shot play Friday for a share of the first-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout. The teams of Matt Kuchar-Harris English and Charles Howell III-Justin Leonard also shot 64 on the Ritz Carlton Resorts Tiburon course. The 24 teams will play better ball Saturday and finish with a scramble Sunday. After playing the front nine in 3 under, Perry and OHair birdied Nos. 13-16. "It was a fun day for me," said Perry, the Champions Tour player of the year and Charles Schwab Cup points champion. "When (OHair) poured it in from about 15 feet on the first hole I knew it was going to be a good day for us. We were never in any trouble. "We had a great chance to really go low today and better than 8 under, but thats OK. I mean, alternate shot is a tough format. To me its my favourite format. I love it more than any format of all the three. So, you know, you can lose it. If we get off to a crummy start its hard to catch up with best ball and scramble coming up." Kuchar and English birdied Nos. 12-14 and eagled No. 17. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun playing with Harris," Kuchar said. "I knew he was on some pretty good form and knew I had a good horse for a partner." English replaced the injured Brandt Snedeker in the field "This is a tournament that Ive always watched on TV growing up and it seemed like such a great format and such a good competition," English said. English hit a 6-iron shot from 192 yards to 6 feet to set up the eagle. "When you start hitting some good shots and start getting some momentum, you keep rolling and we did a good job of keeping that momentum going on the back nine and making a bunch of birdies and making eagle on 17," English said. Howell and Leonard birdied the final three holes on the front nine and added birdies at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 17 and 18. "Today we chose Justin to hit first and that was great for me because he drove it in the fairway every time and I could swing away at it." Howell said. Retief Goosen and Fredik Jacobson shot 67, and Jason Dufner and Dustin Johnson matched Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel at 68. Tournament host Norman and Jonas Blixt had a 72. Nike Sb Outlet Sale . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. Cheap Wholesale Nike Sb Shoes . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. http://www.nikesboutlet.com/ . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. Nike Sb Shoes For Sale Cheap .com) - Matt Beleskey has helped give the Anaheim Ducks some scoring depth and hell look to stay hot on Wednesday night when his club hosts the struggling Philadelphia Flyers. Nike Sb Shoes Discount . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid.Michele Roberts has watched basketball for as long as she can remember. It was an easy choice growing up in a home with one TV and two older brothers. When she saw an interview last year with an NBA player and noticed how passionately he talked about trying to improve his embattled union, she wanted to be more than a fan. She wanted to be involved. Now the Washington trial lawyer is the first woman to lead a North American pro sports union. Roberts was elected Tuesday as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, and shes eager to provide the leadership it needs after a few difficult years. "They were looking for, not a man, not a woman, they were looking for a personality," Roberts said in a phone interview. "I think Im that personality and I intend to be what I have been in my entire practice, singularly devoted to this union. And thats what they were looking for. "Someone, whether it be a boy or a girl, who understood that this was their union, and they intended to run it, and they were looking for someone who appreciated that and was not going to deviate from that." Roberts received 32 of 36 votes at a meeting of players in Las Vegas, defeating tech industry CEO Dean Garfield and Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery in the final vote. It capped a long and arduous process to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted in February 2013. Roberts was one of the finalists initially offered to the rank-and-file during All-Star weekend in February, but the process was re-opened under another search committee at the urging of some players and agents. More than 100 players reconvened in Las Vegas this week, and after some tense moments leading up to the vote, Roberts emerged as the winner. "Obviously, I wouldve preferred that it happen sooner rather than later, but I completely understood when there were questions raised about the process," Roberts said. "Frankly, I would not have wanted them to ignore those questions and not affirmatively address those concerns. I wanted the job in February, but I wanted the job where there would be no questions about the fairness or the process, so I completely endorsed the executive committee to aaddress these questions, and they did and now best I can tell theyre very pleased.dddddddddddd" The players considered more than 300 candidates during their 17-month search before picking Roberts, who has been called the finest trial lawyer in Washington by "Washingtonian Magazine." She said her new job will feature straight, honest talk, just like she delivers to a jury, and the strategizing that made her such a successful lawyer. The search to replace Hunter, who led the NBPA from 1996 until a review of the union was critical of his business practices, leaves players with less than two years to prepare for the next potential collective bargaining talks. Either the union or the league can opt out of the current agreement in 2017. The union has struggled for years with in-fighting and a lack of organization, and the players took a significant cut in their guarantee of basketball-related income -- 57 per cent to about 50 per cent, a drop of hundreds of millions annually in salary costs -- in the contentious lockout in 2011. League revenues are on the rise, a new TV contract is set to be negotiated in 2016 and franchise valuations are skyrocketing. "As far as Im concerned, preparations for CBA negotiations started yesterday," Roberts said. "Its at the top of my list of things that Ive been instructed to begin the process of preparing for, and sure its a lot to do, but Ive never been shy about hard work and long hours, so well get it done. Well be ready." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver congratulated Roberts in a statement, saying he looked forward to working with her "to ensure the continued health and growth of our game." "The partnership between our players and teams is the backbone of the league, and we are eager to continue working with the Players Association to build this relationship," Silver said. The fallout from the lockout and the Hunter ouster left the union reeling. But it also made Roberts want to get involved, which will bring the New York native back home. "The more I thought about it," she said, "the more I thought that would be a great opportunity to do something really important." ' ' '