Michele Roberts has watched basketball for as long as she can remember. MLB Jerseys From China . 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." Stitched Nike MLB Jerseys . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Carreno Busta broke his opponent five times in the match, but also lost his serve three times in the second set before prevailing in the tiebreaker. Both players struggled with their first serve, as Carreno Busta landed just 51 per cent of his to 47 per cent for Kukushkin. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/ . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.Nik Stauskas was nine years old and already thoroughly smitten with basketball when a chance meeting with Vince Carter sealed his fate. Stauskas and his family were at a Toronto Raptors open practice at the Air Canada Centre when he was plucked out of the crowd to shoot hoops with Carter and Morris Peterson. "He hit a three-pointer on Vince Carter, so Vince tackled him to the ground and gave him a noogie," dad Paul said, laughing. "We got pictures of all of it, it was great. That was the tipping point I think." The sweet-shooting 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., is one of six Canadians at the NBA pre-draft camp this week in Chicago, hoping to catch the favourable eye of league general managers and scouts. The others are Jordan Bachynski of Calgary (Arizona State), Khem Birch of Montreal (UNLV), Tyler Ennis of Brampton, Ont. (Syracuse), and Torontos Melvin Ejim (Iowa State) and Dwight Powell (Stanford). You can watch live coverage of the NBA combine on TSN2 and TSN GO on Thursday and Friday at 1pm et/10am pt. Canadian star Andrew Wiggins, considered a top-three prospect in the June 26 draft, isnt attending the combine. Stauskas is part of a growing crop of Canadian kids making their mark on the game. The six-foot-six guard earned Big Ten player of the year in his sophomore — and final — season with Michigan, leading the Wolverines to their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournaments Elite Eight. Stauskas, who had a career-best seven three-pointers at Illinois in March, is known for killing defenders with his quick step-back and release. Its ". . . so fast, youre not going to (defend it). Hes quick. Hes like a cat," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said of Stauskas after his teams loss to Michigan in January. Stauskass accuracy was developed over thousands of hours chucking up shots, first in their driveway and then on their custom-made backyard basketball court. The day nine-year-old Stauskas squared off against Carter, Paul Stauskas said his son already "had range. At the time he would shoot with two hands, he only developed his one-handed shot probably when he was 13, 14. So it was more of a chest pass. But he was very accurate doing it." Stauskas first played when he was seven, on a Lithuanian club team in Toronto coached by his uncle Vic Simkus. Even then, he was three inches taller than any kid on the court, so he played centre. He scored four points in first game — a 6-4 victory. "Nik had this big smile on his face, because we were all so enthusiastic, we were cheering for him, Go Nik go! He just had such a good time. Thats kind of what started it," Paul Stauskas said. "And if a kid enjoys doing something, whether theyre golfing or skating or whatever, when you do it enough times, you become really good at it." Stauskas became really good after the family moved to their Mississauga home when he was in Grade 5. His dad wanted to install either a pool, a putting green or a basketball court in the backyard. They went with the court, because Nik was "just so enthusiastic about basketball and went above and beyond the call of duty to work on his game," Paul said. The dad wanted the best for his boys — Nik has an older brother Peter — so had the court installed by a company that specializes in modular sports flooring. The backyard court, the first by this company in Canada, is made of interlocking tiles that both gives the feel of a real court surface, and help prevent ankle problems and shin splints. Good thing, because Stauskas would practically live on that court for the next several years. In the winter, he would plug in a space heater to warm his hands. Its also a good thing, Paul said, that he chose the court over the putting green. "Maybe Id be a much better golfer," he said. "But Im 100 per cent convinced Nik would not be where he is today if we had not done that. "This was just one of those things, he could be by himself and he was just happy as a lark, he didnt need anybody, he could be there for hours, flicking shots. And you know how kids get, they start playing games in their head and they start fantasizing that theyre hitting the last-second shot in an important game. Hed just play games with himself, just very happy." Stauskas shared his backyard shooting exploits online, turning into a bit of a YouTube showman. In one video, shot on Christmas Eve of 2012, Stauskas, in tuque and track suit, dropped 45 of 50 three-point shots. In another, shot on a rainy day last spring, he made good on 70 of 76 attempts — including 46 in a row — in the span of five minutes. That YouTube video has over 500,000 views, and even caught the attention of Stephen Curry. Golden States star guard retweeted the video, and wrote: "3pt contest sometime @NStauskas11 ????? this is Impressive. Nike MLB Jerseys For Sale. " Stauskas tweeted: "I love waking up to a challenge by the best 3 point shooter in the world!!! Today might be a good day HA!" The Canadian quickly gained a fan following in his rookie year at Michigan. Paul Stauskas remembers it was a couple of tuba players on the school band that came up with the maize-and-blue version of the Maple Leaf that flew at games in Ann Arbor. The tuba players then created a T-shirt with the maize-and-blue flag. Underneath the Maple Leaf it read: "The best Canadian import since Molsons." For a pre-season game this past winter, Paul Stauskas and 50 friends, neighbours and family members chartered a Greyhound bus from Mississauga to Ann Arbor. They all wore the T-shirts. "We were the Nik Stauskas cheering section," Paul said. He and his wife Ruta were regulars at Wolverines games, attending about 15 games in each of Niks two seasons. "Weve followed him all over the country, to Atlanta, to Dallas, all over the place, and those road trips for us were a ton of fun," Paul said. "The whole point is, my wife and I, were financially secure. We never needed our kids to Oh youve got to get this good job to get me out of a bad situation, go pro. It was always just having family fun. And Nik just happened to be really good at what he was doing. "Its been fun, the entire ride. You think Disneyland is fun. This is a helluva ride." The family is happily buckling up for what lies ahead. Most mock drafts have Stauskas going anywhere from 11th to 14th (Denver, Orlando, Minnesota and Phoenix). Next seasons NBA rookie scale has the No. 11 pick getting paid just under US$1.9 million in the first year. "Its really exciting to think of the teams he might play on, and the players he might play with and against," Paul Stauskas said. "Nik has idolized LeBron James from the second LeBron stepped on the court. I was just saying to Nik Nik youre going to be playing against him! "The first time he steps out on the court, and he plays against LeBron, I think hes going to be shell-shocked. Hes probably going to go up to him and ask him for his autograph," he added, laughing. Paul Stauskas cant help but imagine the possible roster permutations. Hes heard the Chicago Bulls — who have the No. 16 pick — might like his son. "We were sitting there thinking Can you imagine Nik, youre playing with (Derrick) Rose? WOW. . . I can just hear it now: Rose to Skauskas, Stauskas back to Rose, OH AND ITS INNNN! That would be fantastic." He thinks Boston — which has both a lottery pick and the No. 17 pick — would be a good fit. "With Rajon Rondo there, I can imagine Nik playing with Rondo," Paul said. "When Rondo first came in the league, both me and Nik saw his very first game and we looked at each other and we go, Wow, is this guy good. So imagine we see this guy and a few years later (Niks) playing side-by-side with him. Its crazy." Rowan Barrett, the assistant GM of Canadas mens basketball program, saw Stauskas play in high school when he was a 15-year-old at Mississaugas Loyola Catholic School. "It was clear that there was talent, there was ability," Barrett said. "The keys you wanted to know were: What was his mind like? And how much would he be willing to work at it? The great thing is he is excellent in both of those areas. Tremendous work ethic and definitely has the mind of a winner. You put those things together with size and length and skill, and you can find yourself a pretty good basketball player. "Im very excited for him." Wiggins, Ennis and Stauskas are all projected lottery picks, which would make this years draft the most successful, in terms of numbers, in Canadian history. Anthony Bennett became the first Canadian to be picked No. 1 overall when he went to Cleveland last year. Canadian Kelly Olynyk (Boston Celtics) was the 13th pick last year. Barrett, 41, said the Canadian growth in the game is a product of opportunities and exposure that werent there when he was growing up in Toronto. "Night and day," Barrett said comparing the generations. Wiggins, Stauskas and Ennis grew up watching the Raptors. Barrett aspired to be a track and field athlete. "I played many of the sports but at that time in Canada, you just had some tremendous athletes in track and field who were bringing home medals from Olympics Games. So those athletes were the ones you wanted to emulate," Barrett said. "But a funny thing happened, I kept growing. "Its a tremendous environment right now for these kids." The 60 participants in this weeks NBA combine will be tested on skills such as vertical leap, shooting, lane agility, and speed. Each team is also allotted a half-hour interview with 18 players of their choosing. ' ' '