Gary Bettman was walking down a Toronto street recently when

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Gary Bettman was walking down a Toronto street recently when a fan approached him. Samuel Umtiti France Jersey .Some guy walks up to me and says, I really dont like you, the NHL commissioner recalled. And I said, But you dont know me. And he says, Yeah but I dont like work stoppages, and I go, Well neither do I, so we have that in common.Bettman will forever take a popularity hit for three lockouts during his tenure, but he wont apologize for them. Ten years after the league ground to a halt and the 2004-05 season was cancelled, he maintains it was necessary for the health of the sport.Pointing to the 04 Stanley Cup final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames in which the team to score the first goal won each game of the series and contrasting that with the 2013 playoffs and its unpredictability, Bettman believes the on-ice product is better than ever.To get to this point, though, Bettman said implementing the salary cap a€” which came out of the 2004-05 lockout a€” was essential.We had teams with 80-, 90 million-dollar payrolls and we had teams with 20-million-dollar payrolls, Bettman said at a recent Canadian Club luncheon. And I would talk to the managers and coaches of the 20-million-dollar teams and go, How are you doing this? And they would say to me, to a man, We clutch, we grab, we hook, we hold and we do everything possible to neutralize skill for 50 minutes and then we try to steal the game.That is why the game as it was being played in the late 90s and early 2000s wasnt nearly as good as it is today.In his 21-plus years as the first official commissioner of the NHL, Bettman has overseen expansion, change and booming business. In the process he has also become a popular target for fans because he has shown a willingness to sacrifice games to affect the kind of change he and the owners want.The game was unhealthy, the competitiveness wasnt there, Bettman said of the 2004-05 lockout. We did what we had to do to not have six, eight or 10 years of a mess. We go through these things not because we want to but because we have to get to a point where the game can be healthy.Now that its healthy, Bettman doesnt look like an executive on the way out. When Bud Selig steps down and Rob Manfred takes over Major League Baseball, Bettman will officially be the longest-tenured commissioner in North American professional sports a€” though he insists because Selig previously had an interim tag that he already is.I will be the oldest when he steps down, said Bettman, who says he hasnt considered any kind of a succession plan. Im still trying to figure out how I got to be 62 years old.Bettman said on multiple occasions during a public interview with George Stroumboulopoulos at the Canadian Club luncheon and in a sit-down with The Canadian Press that he loves his job and the people associated with it. After he hands out the Cup each June, the New Yorker wonders What do I do with myself at night with no games? and insists he hasnt thought about how long he wants to remain in his post.Its as long as Im happy and excited and energized as I am today, Bettman said. If I ever reach the point where Im not, then I need to let somebody else do it. But its a joint decision. Its the owners and its me. But I love what I do and I come to work excited and energized every day.NFL counterpart Roger Goodell is going through a crisis period amid criticism of how he has handled domestic violence and child abuse cases in his league. NBA counterpart Adam Silver recently forced Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after racist audio recordings surfaced, and the Atlanta Hawks are going through a similar process.Selig, like Bettman remembered for games not played because of the 1994 strike that cancelled the World Series, has a legacy tied to an era of performance-enhancing drugs but also introduced revenue sharing.Pending concussion lawsuits, particularly in light of the deaths of Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien, look like the NHLs biggest concern. But Bettman has pointed to the league creating concussion study groups well before the NFL or any other sports league.On the ice, Bettman called last season the best in an almost 100-year history and expects this one to be even better. On a personal level, he doesnt know when, or if, he hit his stride in this job but is proud of where the league is.The game is growing and the game both from a business standpoint and more importantly on the ice has never been healthier, Bettman said. If thats a measure of my stride, then were moving at a pretty good pace. ...Its an honour for me to be associated with the game. Theres no place else Id rather be.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Adil Rami Jersey . Kansas City became the first team in baseball history to win four extra-inning games in a single postseason on Friday, as Alex Gordon crushed a leadoff homer in the 10th and Mike Moustakas added the deciding two-run blast in the Royals 8-6 win. Karim Benzema France Jersey . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/laurent-koscielny-france-jersey/ . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox.ST. LOUIS -- Jedd Gyorkos grand slam gave him a spot in Padres history and his team a come-from-behind victory. Gyorko hit his third career grand slam and drove in five runs, sparking San Diego to a 9-5 rain-delayed victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. It was Gyorkos 31st career homer and set the team mark for most homers by a Padres second baseman, surpassing Mark Loretta. "It seems like once a game I come up with the bases loaded," Gyorko said. "Thats a credit to the guys hitting in front of me. I have to capitalize more like tonight." Gyorkos eighth homer came on an 0-1 pitch from Kevin Siegrist (1-3) with one out in the seventh. The Padres had loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before Gyorkos drive to left. "It was a fastball down and in," Gyorko said. "It probably wasnt a bad pitch. I just put a good swing on it." Rain then halted play later in the inning. The game was delayed 1 hour, 46 minutes and only a handful of the crowd of 44,079 stayed to watch the finish. The Cardinals, who had won three in a row, dropped to three games back of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead. The Brewers beat Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers 3-2. "We get some offensive production early on; its hard to see that go away," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "We had two really rough innings that made for a bad day." Alex Torres (2-1) earned the win when he got the last out in the sixth in relief of rookie starter Jesse Hahn. San Diego won for the sixth time in its last eight games. "Our guys did a nice job and swung at strikes for both of our rallies," San Diego manager Bud Black said. Matt Adams two-out RBI triple in the fifth gave St. Louis a 5-4 lead. It was Adams team-high fifth triple. The Cardinals struck for four runs in the second. Jhonny Peralta hit a run-scoring double down the left-field line and scored on Oscar Taveras one-out double that hit just in front of the wall in centre. Taveras returned to the starting lineup afterr two days on the bench. Hugo Lloris France Jersey. The rookie outfielder did have a pinch-hit RBI single Friday to snap a 2-for-20 slump. Matt Carpenter added a two-run double for the Cardinals. Rymer Liriano tried to catch the line drive. It landed in front of him and bounced by. But San Diego got the runs back against Shelby Miller in the third. "It was good to see us come back against a good young arm like that," Black said. "Im very happy for the guys and their at-bats." Gyorko had an RBI single and rookie Jake Goebbert hit a bases-loaded triple with two down. He had four RBIs in his first 25 games. "You get a four-run lead, you dont go out and give up four runs," Miller said. "Unacceptable. Obviously, it doesnt sit well with me. I should have done a better job of making pitches." Seth Smiths third hit in the eighth drove the Padres final run. TRAINERS ROOM Padres: 3B Yangervis Solarte returned to the lineup after missing two games with a mild left oblique strain. He was in the leadoff spot for the third time this season. Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (right shoulder) threw 30 pitches off the bullpen mound before the game. He had not pitched off a mound since his June 17 start against the New York Mets. He will undergo an MRI on Monday to check the shoulder. TARGET PRACTICE St. Louis CF Jon Jay was hit twice by a pitch. He also was hit by a pitch twice Friday, giving him four in two games. He leads the major leagues with 14 hit by pitches. CARDINALS HALL OF FAME Willie McGee, Jim Edmonds, Mike Shannon and the late Marty Marion were honoured Saturday with their induction into St. Louis newly created Cardinals Hall of Fame. UP NEXT Rookie RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (3-3, 2.72 ERA) faces Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright (14-7, 2.34 ERA) in the finale of the four-game series. Despaigne pitched seven scoreless innings in a victory over Colorado in his previous start. Wainwright is 5-2 with a 1.47 ERA against the Padres. He is coming off a 3-0 loss at Miami in his last outing. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap ' ' '