Das Feller-Forum » The Saskatoon Blades said players and team personnel we

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. That got her started toward becoming the first woman to lead a North American pro sports union. Roberts was elected early Tuesday morning as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, and the Washington trial lawyer is 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 address these questions, and they did and now best I can tell theyre very pleased." 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 strategizing, things that have 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." Wholesale Cubs Jerseys . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Cheap Cubs Jerseys China . Lost to Los Angeles in first round of playoffs. http://www.cheapcubsjerseysshop.com/?tag=cheap-fergie-jenkins-jersey . - Dominika Cibulkova erased three match points in the second set Wednesday and beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open. Cheap Billy Williams Jersey . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. Cheap Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . The Kelowna, B.C. rink made the announcement on their facebook page on Thursday night.SASKATOON -- Kootenay Ice forward Tim Bozon was in critical condition Wednesday at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon with Neisseria meningitis. The Western Hockey League said public health officials were trying to ensure that anyone Bozon, 19, had contact with receives appropriate treatment. The Saskatoon Blades said players and team personnel were given antibiotics as a precaution. "(Public health) said the risk is minimal but were taking precautionary measures," Blades president Steve Hogel said. Meningitis, an inflammation of membranes around the brain and spinal cord, can be fatal if not treated quickly. Bozon, who was selected in the third round, 64 overall, by Montreal in the 2012 NHL draft, was admitted tto hospital March 1.dddddddddddd Kootenay beat Saskatoon 4-2 the night before. Bozon had a goal in the victory. His parents, Phillippe and Helen, have been at his bedside since they arrived in Saskatoon Sunday from their home in Switzerland. While there are several varieties of meningitis, the particular type Bozon has, Neisseria meningitis, is bacterial and more contagious. "The way bacterial meningitis spreads is through spit. You need to have very close contact or direct contact with the nose and throat secretions of the individual who became ill," said Dr. Shovita Padhi, deputy medical health officer for the Saskatoon Health Region. Bozon has 30 goals and 32 assists in 50 games this season with the Ice. ' ' '