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being reunited in Dallas.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Cheap Jerseys Store . -- Ben Crane has waited so long to contend for another PGA Tour title that being patient through weather delays is no problem at all. Staying atop the leaderboard into the third round helps. Crane went more than 28 hours between competitive shots due to weather delays, and he was at 13 under with a four-stroke lead through six holes Saturday when another storm stopped play again at the St. Jude Classic. "What an opportunity I have," Crane said. "Certainly at the beginning of the week I never thought I would have been here, so Ill just try to go home relax, get some food in me and sleep as fast as I can because we got to come back out at 7 a.m. and restart tomorrow." Troy Merritt, a group ahead of Crane, was at 9 under, with playing partner Peter Malnati at 8 under. Billy Horschel, Retief Goosen and Camilo Villegas were 7 under on their front nines. Phil Mickelson, who hasnt won in 19 straight events dating to the British Open, had pars on each of his first nine holes and was at 5 under. Hes one of many players using the event to tune up for the U.S. Open next week at Pinehurst. Play stopped at 6:49 p.m. with officials hoping to have the leaders tee off for the final round by 9:10 a.m. Sunday, if they can avoid a fog delay like the one that delayed the start of play for an hour Saturday morning. A storm Thursday forced 60 players to wrap up the first round Friday, and only 32 finished the second before two delays, the second for a thunderstorm that left water standing in fairways, bunkers and cart paths. The third round finally started at 3 p.m. with threesomes going off both tees. At least fans got to stick around all of Saturday afternoon after being sent home early the past two days. Crane didnt tee off until 4:50 p.m. Saturday after finishing up his second round at 12:18 p.m. Friday. But this is Cranes 300th career PGA Tour start, even though his last win was in 2011 at the McGladrey Classic. Crane said he cant remember playing with a lead this late in a tournament its been so long. He is putting well here this week, and he birdied his first hole to go to 13 under for the tournament as he rolled in a nearly 19-footer on the par-4 first. After hitting his approach into the rough behind the green on No. 2, Crane made a 12-footer to save par. "Those are kind of critical putts right now, kind of keep the momentum going," Crane said. Merritt, who did not make a start on tour in 2012 or 2013 and missed his first six cuts this year, is the closest to Crane. "Anything can happen on the final day when weve seen six-shot leads falter on the last day," Merritt said. "If you can stay within a couple shots, that would be great. Anything can happen on Sunday on the PGA Tour." Mickelson tied for 49th last week in the Memorial following a visit from FBI agents and lingering questions about an insider-trading investigation. He never teed off at all Friday with the horn blowing for the second time with him at the No. 1 tee. He said he couldnt hit his irons close enough or his putts in his second round. He started bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie, though he birdied Nos. 14 and 15 to get to 5 under. He rolled in a 16-footer to save par on the par-5 16th and wasnt happy at missing a birdie opportunity with the pin at the front of the green. "I had a chance to get up and down," Mickelson said. "I think if I had birdied 16 I might have gotten one more with a little bit of momentum. ... Im certainly not that far back, but I do need to get off to a quick start. I got to get a good front nine here this third round and get off to a fast start." Divots: Local favourite John Daly was among 71 making the cut at even par. Defending champ Harris English missed the cut along with Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood and David Toms, a two-time champ here. ... David Duval withdrew after seven holes in his second round. He was at 7 over for the tournament. He was the 10th to withdraw since this event started. Jerry Noonan Jersey Online . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Carl Monroe Jersey Online . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half.OTTAWA - For the second straight year the Ottawa Senators have lost their captain on the opening day of NHL free agency. The Senators traded Jason Spezza, who was coming off his first year as captain, to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday for winger Alex Chiasson along with prospects Alex Guptill, Nicholas Paul and a second-round pick in 2015. Ottawa prospect Ludwig Karlsson was also part of the trade. Last year the Senators bid farewell to longtime captain Daniel Alfredsson after he chose to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. News of Spezzas departure was much less shocking to Senators fans, as the 31-year-old had requested a trade following the end of the season. "It was a combination of things and the fact I have one year left on my deal," said Spezza, when asked for the reasons behind the trade request. "Only having one year left on my contract I thought it was fair talking to Bryan (Murray) now so we dont get into a situation next year where were always talking about if Im extending or why Im not extending or whats going on moving forward. "I felt like it was best for me to move on and this was the appropriate time to take care of all this through the summer so that I can have a fresh start during the season and move on and the team can move on as well." Senators general manager Bryan Murray acknowledged this was a very difficult deal to be made. "As I said all along you dont get equal value for a skilled point getter, but with the request being three or four times made to us, and in spite of what everybody else says we didnt encourage any movement, we were asked if it would happen," said Murray. "I didnt want to go through another summer of issues … Dallas was the one option that I had. Jim Nill was very straightforward in what he could offer me." Murray told reporters that a contract extension had been offered and refused by Spezza. He said three trade offers had been in play at the NHL draft last weekend, but disappeared as the days went by leaving the Dallas offer as the lone deal on the table. The Senators would like to add another centre to their lineup and Murray said hes working on a deal that he hopes to finalize soon. With Spezzas departure Murray sees the Senators forging a new identity and believes Chiasson will fit right in. "Weve always wanted to shift to a hard working, competitive team that we had two years ago and then last year for some reason we got off the track," said Murray. "Were going to try and get that back on track." Chiasson, who had 13 goals and 35 points with the Stars last season, is the centrepiece of the trade, but in no way will the 23-year-old replace Spezza. Love him or hate him, Spezza was a point-per-game player over his 11 seasons with the Senators. In 686 games Spezza scored 251 goals and had 687 ppoints. Bob Friedlund Jersey Online. . Spezza is in the final year of his contract with a $7 million cap hit and $4 million in actual salary. Over the course of his career Spezza has often been a lightning rod for criticism, and things seemed to come to a head this season for the veteran centre. When asked whether or not he felt the criticism was fair, Spezza said it came with the responsibility of being a star player. "I was the highest paid guy on the team and the guy who had been there for a long time so fingers were pointed at me at times, but I also got credit at times," Spezza said. "When you play in a Canadian market and you play in a city like that and youre in the same spot for a long time if you expect not to have the finger pointing you have unrealistic expectations. So at times the finger was pointing at me, but it was the reality of the situation that I was in." Spezza said his decision didnt come lightly and that he will miss many things about Ottawa, but in the end he was looking for a team that would give him the best chance at winning a Stanley Cup. Fans will remember that Alfredsson uttered nearly the exact same words last year after signing with Detroit. With two of its top players bolting from the organization one has to wonder what effect this will have on the Senators reputation. Murray is clearly frustrated by the perception that Ottawa is being viewed as a frugal team thats not willing to spend. "Ive never had one player Ive called and asked if they would be interested in coming to Ottawa say No Im worried about the money on your team and I wouldnt come," said Murray. "Perception is what you make it to be and what you really believe to be true. I think players know they come here and are treated well." Despite losing Spezza and Alfredsson in the span of two years, Murray said the team wont be forced to go into a rebuild. "No, were past that," said Murray. "Were going to have a good hockey team. Were going to compete. We lose a little bit at centre ice, we gain a little bit on the wing, weve got a couple of young guys coming that are going to be a different brand of player…I think our team is going to be really competitive, hard working group of people. I think were going to be well off going forward." Joining Spezza in Dallas is Ales Hemsky, who turned down an offer from the Senators for a contract extension. Hemsky was acquired at the trade deadline and showed chemistry with Spezza, but knowing the captain wanted out left Hemsky with little reason to remain in Ottawa. Both players said they were looking forward to being reunited in Dallas. The Senators did re-sign left-wing Milan Michalek to a three-year, $12-million contract Tuesday. Murray said Michalek had been offered a five-year offer elsewhere, but chose to remain in Ottawa. ' ' '
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