SAN DIEGO -- Tony Clark said hes "blown away" that he is the first former major leaguer to become head of the baseball players u

SAN DIEGO -- Tony Clark said hes "blown away" that he is the first former major leaguer to become head of the baseball players union. Nico Hischier Jersey . The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Clark to replace Michael Weiner, who died Nov. 21 of brain cancer. The decision is pending a vote of the general membership. Clark was an All-Star in 2001 and played for 15 seasons with Detroit, Arizona, the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston and San Diego. The 41-year-old was appointed deputy executive director in July and had been acting executive director since Weiners death. The executive board is meeting this week at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. Clark went to high school in the San Diego area and played basketball at San Diego State. After retiring during the 2009 season, Clark had opportunities in broadcasting and coaching. Instead, he said he woke up one day and told his wife that he should work for the players union, "having no idea that we would be sitting before you, Dec. 3, 2013, in this capacity, but appreciating all the while that Michaels vision for our organization, my involvement with it, and the hope and having and making a difference for our group, active and inactive and those that are coming next, was the final decision-maker for me." Clark spoke on a conference call and then to a handful of San Diego reporters. Clark joined the MLBPA staff in March 2010 as director of player relations. He got active in union affairs after attending his first executive board meeting in 1999. From there he became a team player representative, before spending his last seven seasons as an association representative. As a player, Clark was actively involved in 2002 and 2006 collective bargaining as well as negotiations on revisions to the Joint Drug Agreement. "I expected to be tied to the hip with Michael for 20 years," Clark said. "He rides off into the sunset, I ride off into the sunset, we ride off into the sunset, having, Lord willing, affected the game positively. Blown away, yes. Humbled, yes. Excited to carry on the vision that Michael put into place, yes. ... Focused, not just now but going forward on what we stand for, who we are and how weve arrived at the place weve arrived? Blown away, yes." Jeremy Guthrie of the Kansas City Royals and free agent outfielder Curtis Granderson spoke glowingly of Clark. Guthrie pointed out that Weiner had been groomed before he took over for Donald Fehr in 2009, and Clark was groomed to replace Weiner, "although the time came way too fast, much more fast than any of us hoped or expected." Guthrie said he met with Weiner in 2012 after the cancer has been diagnosed, and the two agreed that Clark appeared to be the best candidate to eventually succeed Weiner. "Michael had the intuition, the foresight, whatever it was, to bring Tony on board when he did and to have him at his side," Guthrie said. "Tony clearly rose to the top as someone that wed never necessarily had planned to see in this position, but when we needed to find someone, his candidacy was clear, that he was someone prepared to do this. "I think this is a unique time," Guthrie said. "Baseball changes a ton and our union continues to progress and now we have a former player on board. I dont think theres a better player thats ever been a part of this game, one as prepared, one as intelligent, one as powerful, one as knowledgeable, as Tony, to step in and do that. Its funny how things happen, but preparation has been on our side." Granderson said that when the 6-foot-8 Clark walked into a meeting Monday, he didnt have to say a word and the other players stopped talking and took their seats. "That was an additional confirming moment for me as far as this person demanding attention," Granderson said. "The information hes going to provide is going to be of importance, no matter when hes speaking or what hes speaking about. "The idea of him being a player, you never forget that as part of his resume, but thats not all he is," Granderson added. "For some reason people have coupled him to that category, but he is by far more than that and will continue to be more than that. Thats just a chapter in his background. This is a new chapter and there will be many new chapters." Adam Henrique Jersey .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. Steve Santini Jersey . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. http://www.nhldevilshockeystore.com/marcus-johansson-jersey/ . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday.WINNIPEG - They were quiet for most of the night, but the Pittsburgh Penguins two biggest stars did enough in the shootout to lead their team to a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets in a penalty-filled game on Thursday night.Sidney Crosby scored the winner after Evgeni Malkin scored on a penalty shot of his own, and Marc-Andre Fleury made saves off Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane to secure a sixth consecutive win for the Penguins.Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets to open the shootout.Crosby, who along with Malkin was held off the score sheet through 65 minutes, called the game out of the ordinary.It was two teams that dont see each other that much, Crosby said. I think they wanted to come out hard and play well in front of their crowd, and I think we handled it well.Brandon Sutter had a goal and two assists, while Steve Downie and Simon Despres added goals for Pittsburgh (9-2-1) in regulation time.Ladd, Jacob Trouba and Evander Kane replied for the Jets (7-5-2), who now have points in seven straight games.I think we just capitalized on our chances, Sutter said. I think overall we could still play a little bit better, but that was a fun game. That was two good teams going at it.You get into a shootout and weve got a couple guys that know a thing or two about scoring goals, he added.The teams combined for 102 penalty minutes and three fights, but no power-play goals.The Jets entered the game with the fourth-best penalty kill in the NHL, and managed to shut down the leagues top power play. The Penguins, meanwhile, extended their perfect stretch on the penalty kill to 34 for 34.Winnipeg had a chance to win the game on the power play after Despres was called for tripping Mark Scheifele with 1:06 left in overtime, but couldnt find the net. Each team was also given a power play in the final five minutes of regulation time.Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves for the Jets, while Fleury stopped 34 shots for the Penguins.It was a good battle, said Jets coach Paul Maurice. It was fun to be a part of.We were ready to play from the start, played hard, made some mistakes, forced some mistakes… everyone in there is tireed, and they should be. Jimmy Hayes Jersey. Ladd, the Winnipeg captain, opened the scoring midway through the first period when he tipped a Bryan Little shot in the top of the crease past Fleury for his sixth goal of the season.The goal ended a shutout streak of 164:22 for Fleury, who was playing his first game since signing a four-year contract extension worth $23 million on Wednesday.The lead lasted 100 seconds, as Despres point shot through heavy traffic made it 1-1.Sutter gave Pittsburgh the lead at 6:50 of the second period when he broke through the Jets defence and beat Pavelec with a low shot for his fourth goal of the season.Downie made it 3-1 late in the second when he just missed a breakaway pass after coming out of the penalty box, but took the ricochet off the end boards and made a deke to his backhand. Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien cross-checked Downie into the corner boards after the goal, but Downies retaliation cost Pittsburgh a power play.An undisciplined second period could have gone even worse for the Jets, but they managed to kill two power plays — including a 29-second two-man advantage. The Penguins power play entered the game a league-best 41.3 per cent, but finished the night 0 for 6.A blast to the top corner from Trouba late in the period made it 3-2 at the second intermission.Kane tied the game on a breakaway at 3:55 of the third period after a lead pass from Wheeler. It was the first of the season, and 100th of his career, for the 23-year-old winger who missed eight games with injury.We wanted to come out and prove we could play with the best of the best, Kane said. It was a very emotional game… old school hockey is the reason why you want to play the game.The Jets begin a five-game road trip in Ottawa while the Penguins continue their five-game trip in Buffalo, both on Saturday.Notes: Little played his 500th career game, while Penguins forward Craig Adams played his 300th consecutive game. … Wheeler, who entered the season with three fights in 454 career games, dropped his gloves for the third time this season in a first-period scrap with Rob Bortuzzo. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '