He later announced his retirement from competitive skating. "I am sorry for my fans and for everybody, but I tried till the end

IRVING, Texas -- Suzann Pettersen was prepared for a much longer break from LPGA Tour when she started having more back problems. Dalton Schultz Cowboys Jersey . When she had similar pain a decade ago, she was out of action for about eight months. But Pettersen missed only a month this time, and the 33-year-old Norwegian is already on top of the leaderboard again after a bogey-free 5-under 66 on Thursday in the first round of the North Texas LPGA Shootout. "I feel good. I mean very patient. Just really just trying to enjoy being back," Pettersen said. "I got to kind of pace myself a little bit. I cant do too much early in the week. So I have a lot of spare time to fool around with. ... I really cant go hit balls on the range. I play whatever I need to play and then just try to give my body a little bit of break." Pettersen had a one-stroke lead over playing partner Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, Caroline Masson, Christina Kim, Cydney Clanton and Dori Carter. Pettersen is playing her second tournament since withdrawing before the Kia Classic in late March, and being told rest was the way to heal her back. The worlds fourth-ranked player tied for 28th in San Francisco last week. "Its been a little bit achy early this week. So taking it a little bit careful," she said. "But last week was nice to be back. Its always tough when you come back from something like that when youre so out of play. Youre not even close to be playing. And then next thing you know the pain is gone and you can start hitting balls, and to bring back the mentality straightaway." Pettersen took sole possession of the lead when she birdied Nos. 7 and 8, her 16th and 17th holes of the day at Las Colinas Country Club. Among the 35 players under par was Juli Inkster, the 53-year-old with eight major victories who shot 69. The last of Inksters 31 career victories came in 2006. Wie is playing with confidence and just trying to have fun, and had her 15th consecutive round of par or better. All have come in a stretch when she was the runner-up in the seasons first major, won at home in Hawaii for his first LPGA Tour victory in nearly four years and then had another top-10 finish last week in San Francisco, not far from alma mater Stanford. "Definitely, my confidence level is up from last year, " said Wie, whose five top-10 finishes are already one more than she had in 26 tournaments all last season. Top-ranked Inbee Park, the defending champion, and Texas native Stacy Lewis, the highest-ranked American at No. 3, both shot 71. Park had four birdies, but the South Korean also had a bogey at the par-5 third hole, and made double bogey at the par-4 15th. "It was just one of those kind of days," Park said. "Nothing went really wrong, but just a couple of bad shots that really penalized me today." Lewis round included two three-putts and a one-stroke penalty when she unintentionally kicked her own ball in the No. 10 fairway. Kim hit 17 of 18 greens, while needing 31 putts in a bogey-free round that was her lowest score this season. The 30-year-old Kim hasnt won on the LPGA Tour since 2005, and her best finish last season was tying for 11th at North Texas. "Just played steady," Kim said. "I struck the ball really well and just kept the ball in front of me and was able to find it after every swing." Masson started the inaugural North Texas LPGA Shootout last year with a bogey-free 64, and the German also was the second-round leader. "On one hand I know I can go low here and shoot a good score. On the other hand, I kind of feel like I want to make up for the last round last year," said Masson, who finished 15th last year after a closing 75. "Its positive memories, though. I mean it was a great week for me last year, just to really get going. ... Its never nice to shoot a bad last round, but I dont have it in my head too much." Jamize Olawale Cowboys Jersey .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Mike White Cowboys Jersey . THE THUNDER & PACERS BENCHES: In a nutshell, not impressive at all. http://www.cowboysfootballgearshop.com/terrell-owens-jersey/ . The Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Nashville Predators goaltender highlighted Mondays waiver transactions, with Calgarys Chuck Kobasew and Edmontons Philip Larsen also being placed on waivers. Canadas Patrick Chan sits in second place in mens figure skating after a solid performance in his short program at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. One of his main rivals, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, sits just ahead of him in first place. Chan skated a largely clean routine, although he stumbled slightly in landing one of his triple axels — a jump that CBC figure skating analyst Kurt Browning said is "not his favourite comfort jump." Chans score of 97.52 was only one point off his all-time personal best of 98.52 in the short. It was not enough to surpass Hanyu, however, who beat his own world record in the short program with a score of 101.45 today in the event. Chan is the world record holder in the long program, which starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. Despite having been home to several prominent figure skaters over the years, no Canadian man has ever won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Spanish skater Javier Fernandez is in third place, atop a group of skaters bunched tightly together, with only four points separating third place from eighth. Plushenko retires Earlier in the day Evgeni Plushenko surprised the figure skating world by withdrawing during warm-ups to his short program because he injured himself while awkwardly landing a jump. He then went to the judges table before bowing to the crowd and leaving the ice, saying later it felt like "a knife in my back. Kony Ealy Jersey. " "After the first triple axel I stepped out and felt terrible pain in my leg and the second one was just a terrible landing," Plushenko said. "I couldnt feel my legs after it." He later announced his retirement from competitive skating. "I am sorry for my fans and for everybody, but I tried till the end. I almost cried," he said. "This is not how I wanted to end my career. I am very disappointed. But I tried to do my best." Plushenko, a three-time medallist in the mens event, was a darkhorse for the podium this time around and the host countrys only representative in the event. Another Canadian skater, Kevin Reynolds, failed to land two jumps and hit the ice twice during his short program, scoring a 68.76. Thats well off his personal best in the event of 85.16. "It was a disaster out there," Reynolds said after he finished skating. "I lost it on the first jump and it just snowballed from there. The result is where Im sitting now. Its incredibly disappointing for me." Reynolds performance was good enough to make the cutoff to perform in the free skate tomorrow. With files from Olympic News Service Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '