Maurice said he expected Byfuglien to be available for the J

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The NBA and its television partners couldnt wait to extend their contracts.The league renewed its deals with ESPN and TNT even though two seasons remain on the old ones. With potential competition from Fox looming, both networks were willing to pay generously to secure the rights long term.The NBAs annual revenue from the agreements will increase from $930 million to more than $2.6 billion, according to a person familiar with the terms. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the league did not announce financial figures.We ultimately made a decision that this was the right time to go, Commissioner Adam Silver said at a news conference Monday. These are extraordinarily healthy deals financially.The contracts will run an additional nine years through the 2024-25 season. The previous eight-year agreements end after 2015-16.We believe at the end of the deal it will feel inexpensive, ESPN President John Skipper said. Its hard to imagine.What was painful to imagine for both companies was life without the NBA.Each year the playoffs help TNT win nights of television during all-important May sweeps, said David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting System.The basics wont change: The NBA Finals remain on ABC, ESPNs broadcast partner. ESPN/ABC and TNT will continue to split the conference finals.Broadcasting rights fees have been skyrocketing across all sports as live events become increasingly valuable to advertisers. Few viewers will DVR an NBA game, which means they cant fast-forward through the commercials.Theres never been a better time to be an owner of an NBA franchise a€” or, frankly, any professional sports team, said Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, chairman of the leagues media committee.Players may remember that comment when they negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement with owners, which could happen in 2017. Owners insisted they needed a new financial structure during the 2011 talks and emerged with a deal that slashed the players guarantee of basketball revenues.The whole thing that went on with the last negotiation process was the owners were telling us they were losing money. Theres no way they can sit in front of us and tell us that right now, Clevelands LeBron James said. After we continue to see teams selling for billions of dollars, being purchased for $200 million, signing for $550, $750 and $2 billion and now (Mikhail) Prokhorov is possibly selling his majority stake in the Nets for over $1 billion. That will not fly with us this time.The league has relationships with both Fox and Comcast, NBCs parent company, which locally televise teams games on their regional sports networks. If the national contract had gone to the open market, NBC also could have pursued a return to NBA coverage to boost its 24-hour sports cable channel, NBCSN.Silver said the league took into consideration the potential interest of tech companies such as Google and Apple that could eventually bid on sports rights and change the model for how fans watch games.But for the next decade and beyond, the NBA is sticking with what works.I dont think we left any money on the table, Silver said. Were confident that we maximized what our opportunity was in the marketplace.For ESPN, the value of the deal goes beyond games, though there are more of those, too: ESPN and ABC are adding 10 regular-season matchups, bringing their total to 100.The network also gets expanded rights to air highlights and will significantly expand its NBA studio shows. The goal is to make basketball a year-round topic of conversation as the NFL has become on ESPN.To that end, the agreement adds the NBAs Summer League and its developmental league. The network also extends its WNBA contract through 2025 and increases its offerings for ESPN International.And then there are the plans for a new service for mobile devices that ESPN will run, with the NBA receiving equity interest. Details on that have yet to be determined.ESPN now owns rights to the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, college football playoffs and four of the five power conferences through at least 2021. Only the Big Ten contract ends soon among the networks biggest sports properties.It will be at least another decade before Fox can try to put a substantial dent in ESPNs head start.TNT, meanwhile, cant offer its own 24-hour sports channel to the NBA. But it has deep business ties to the league through managing its digital properties, which includes NBA TV and NBA.com.The new deal includes expanded digital rights for Bleacher Report, the sports website acquired by Turner, TNTs parent company. TNT will televise an additional 12 games with playoff implications over the second half of the season on nights other than its traditional Thursday, bringing its total to 64.TNT will also air a new post-season awards show.When the NBA negotiated its last CBA, the union secured the ability for either side to opt out in 2017 so players could gauge the effects of the next television deals on revenue. One reason James signed for only two years with the Cavaliers was an expectation that the salary cap would rise significantly with more TV money pouring in, increasing maximum salaries.Silver said he would start discussions with National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts about the transition to a much larger cap.In a statement, Roberts called the new contracts good news for all of the stakeholders in the business of the NBA.Our job will be to ensure that the players receive their fair share of the results of their efforts, she added, and that we do everything possible to maintain the growth and popularity of the game.___AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Independence, Ohio contributed to this report. Colin Kaepernick Youth Jersey . Tottenham claimed top spot in Group K by winning 2-0 at Tromso after defender Adnan Causevic scored an own goal before Mousa Dembele put the result beyond doubt. Valencia made sure it will finish first in Group A with a 1-0 win at Swansea thanks to an early goal from Dani Parejo. Deion Sanders Womens Jersey . The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and boosted Cincinnatis struggling offence by hitting a double and scoring as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday night. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Mitch-Wishnowsky-Jersey/ . -- Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after having an operation on a groin muscle. Y.A. Tittle Jersey .J. -- The New Jersey Devils are so bad in shootouts, coach Pete DeBoer doesnt mind seeing his team take chances in the five-minute overtime. Solomon Thomas 49ers Jersey .com) - Rick Nash scored twice and Derek Stepan chipped in a goal with one assist as the New York Rangers claimed a 5-2 decision over Calgary at the Saddledome.WINNIPEG -- Blake Wheeler knows the Winnipeg Jets are still a long shot to earn the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference, but a decisive thumping of the team theyre chasing gave the club a glimmer of hope on Sunday night. Wheeler had four assists as the Jets stormed from behind to beat the Dallas Stars 7-2, pulling to within four points of the eight-place Stars, although Dallas has two games in hand. "Were a little too far back to have statement games," Wheeler said. "It was a good step for us. It was a good start to hopefully something good here. Weve got to rally and string a bunch together now." The Jets (31-29-9) managed to snap a six-game winless streak that crippled their playoff chances. "Weve liked the way weve been playing for the most part," Wheeler said. "The last three or four games weve actually played really well but it just hasnt worked out for us, so to get the results is definitely gratifying." Dustin Byfuglien had two goals and an assist for the Jets, while Jacob Trouba, Michael Frolik, Evander Kane, Ollie Jokinen and Tobias Enstrom also scored. Jokinen and Enstrom each added two assists in the teams highest-scoring game of the season. Alex Chiasson and Tyler Seguin scored first-period goals for the Stars (32-24-11), who had earned points in their previous four games. The Jets scored the next six goals after Seguin had given the Stars a 2-1 lead 7:02 into the game. Stars coach Lindy Ruff thought his team had enough quality chances to have a bigger lead. "Its more than just a loss," Ruff said. "We got off our game. We had some terrible turnovers and they took advantage of it. "I thought they stayed with it longer than we did." Al Montoya, starting in place of the injured Ondrej Pavelec, survived a shaky start and finished with 25 saves on 27 shots, including one on an Erik Cole breakaway that could have given Dallas a two-goal lead. "That goes back to experience I guess," said Montoya, who upped his record to 11-5-3. "Being put in that situation several times, youve got a choice. You either go out there and make a big save or you let the mental part of the game bother you. Im a battler and I like to think my teammates think the same thing of me." Tim Thomas started in goal for Dallas, but stopped just 13 of the 17 shots he faced and was pulled after Jokinens goal 29 seconds into the second period made it 4-2.dddddddddddd Cristopher Nilstorp, a 30-year-old with five NHL games to his credit, came off the bench and allowed three goals on 17 shots. The Stars lost regular starter Kari Lehtonen to a concussion on Mar. 8. "Im disappointed in the way we played," Ruff said. "Im disappointed in the composure. I didnt think we showed enough resolve." After a wide open first period, the Stars mustered only three shots on goal in the second as the Jets built a 5-2 lead. "Its a really important learning process for a young team to have success in a big game getting down early and then coming back and being very good," Maurice said. Jokinen found himself all alone in front of the Dallas net after a pass from Wheeler and scored on a shifty deke to chase Thomas from the game. Then Byfuglien blasted a hard shot from the point on the power play to make it a three-goal lead. The defenceman-turned-forward scored again early in the third -- his 19th of the season -- and moments later, nearly became the first Jet to record a hat trick since the team relocated from Atlanta, but was stopped on a breakaway by Nilstorp. The eventful evening for Byfuglien ended with him leaving the game with a lower-body injury midway through the third period. Maurice said he expected Byfuglien to be available for the Jets game in St. Louis on Monday night. After Trouba opened the scoring at 3:11, the Stars took only four minutes to regain the lead. Chiasson poked the puck under Montoya after the netminder appeared to have control of a point shot. Then Seguin notched his 30th of the season after a pass from rookie Valeri Nichushkin. Frolik tied it after a giveaway from Stars defenceman Alex Gologoski, and Enstrom deposited a pass from Wheeler past Thomas to give the Jets the lead for good. The Stars are in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night and Philadelphia on Thursday before heading home. The teams have one remaining meeting, in Dallas on March 24. Notes: The Jets were also without centre Jim Slater (lower body) and forward Chris Thorburn (ankle), who were both injured on Friday night in a loss to the New York Rangers. a The NHL announced that the Stars will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 9 to make up the game that was suspended on Monday when Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the teams bench. The game will be 60 minutes, and will start with Columbus holding the 1-0 lead they had prior to the medical emergency. ' ' '