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Michele Roberts has watched basketball for as long as she can remember. Custom Oakland Athletics Jerseys . 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 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 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." Stitched Athletics Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . Schaub will start for an injured Case Keenum and try to help the Texans end a 12-game skid. Schaubs last action in Houston came when he took over late in a game against Oakland on Nov. 17 as Keenum was struggling. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj.(SportsNetwork.com) - With a chance to grab second in the Atlantic Division the Toronto Maple Leafs will have extra motivation as coach Randy Carlyle makes his return to the Honda Center to face his former team, the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio Toronto 1050 at 10pm et. Carlyle served as head coach of the Ducks for six-plus seasons before getting fired on Nov. 31, 2011 and replaced by Boudreau. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 under Carlyle, who went 273-182-61 during his time with Anaheim. The Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning and one point behind the Canadiens. Carlyle won his first matchup versus the Ducks since getting fired, a 4-2 victory at home on Oct. 22. Phil Kessel had a hat trick for Toronto and Dion Phaneuf notched a goal in the Leafs fourth straight victory over the Ducks. Toronto also has won eight of the previous 11 meetings overall and four of the last six in Anaheim. "Toronto is a great team," Boudreau told his clubs website. "They have the highest scoring line in the league, and they can skate. And, its Randys first trip back. Theyre going to be all pumped up. It should be an exciting game, and it should be a really tough game." Hiller made 19 saves in that October loss and is 0-4-0 in his career versus the Maple Leafs with a 4.84 goals against average. Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves and is 3-1-1 lifetime versus the Ducks with a 2.22 GAA and will start in goal tonight. Toronto is beginning a five-game road trip tonight and is just 12-12-7 as the guest compared to 22-11-1 at home. The Maple Leafs hit the road having gone 4-1-2 in their last seven games, winning two straight in overtime. That includes a 4-3 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Toronto led 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 with 6:26 lefft in the third period, but Philadelphia forced overtime on a goal with 2:32 on the clock. Athletics Jerseys 2020. Joffrey Lupul was able to secure the extra point for his club when he scored 2:21 into the extra frame. "We dont want to make a habit of blowing third-period leads, but things are going to happen and other teams are going to make plays," said Lupul. "We stuck with it and there was a good feeling on our bench going into overtime." Mason Raymond, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner also lit the lamp in the win. Troy Bodie supplied two assists and Bernier made 28 stops. The Ducks, idle since Friday, have followed up a three-game winning streak with back-to-back shootout losses, giving them 93 points on the season and a four-point edge over the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division. However, Anaheim now sits a point behind St. Louis for the most in the league after the Blues recorded a shootout victory on Sunday. The Ducks have been defeated in consecutive six-round shootouts, first falling to the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday before a 3-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins two nights later. In the sixth round, Pittsburghs Brandon Sutter went to the backhand and lifted it high past Jonas Hiller. Ryan Getzlaf had the last chance for Anaheim, but he missed with a backhand attempt. Corey Perry had both goals in regulation for the Ducks, while Hiller turned away 15 shots in the loss. "I thought we played a great game," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "Take away their power play, and I think they had 10 or 11 shots, which is great. We followed our game plan to a tee. We just lost in a shootout." Anaheim lost defenseman Luca Sbisa to a lower-body injury on Friday and he may sit out tonight when Carlyle returns to Anaheim for the first time as the coach of the Maple Leafs. ' ' '