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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. Vegas Golden Knights Shirts . -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She was by herself atop the leaderboard, too. "The pin positions werent that hard," the 24-year-old Chinese player said. Feng had little trouble Thursday in perfect morning conditions at Mission Hills, shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Michelle Wie and Se Ri Pak. Defending champion Inbee Park voiced the majority opinion after an opening 74. "The pin positions were very tough for the first day," Park said. "Half of the pins, we couldnt go at. There were very tough pins out there." Cristie Kerr agreed after her morning round in the first major of the year. "The pin on 3 today, it doesnt matter if you hit a pitching wedge, it would be hard to get to, and were hitting 6- and 7- irons in," said Kerr, tied for sixth after a 69. "The pin on 1 is like 2 yards from the right side of the green. ... Do they have to be that severe? Maybe not, but theyre probably compensating for the fact that theres not much rough." Feng had seven birdies and a bogey. "This morning, it was playing easier because there was no wind," Feng said. Feng won the 2012 LPGA Championship to become the tours first Chinese winner and had two victories late last year. She tied for 16th last week in Carlsbad, her best finish of the season. "The beginning of this year I was kind of a little lost because I lost a little weight and my swing kind of changed a little," Feng said. "I wasnt swinging very comfortably." Angel Yin, a 15-year-old high school freshman from the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia, was two strokes back at 68 with Amy Yang. Yin was asked if there was a player she wanted to meet, but was too shy to approach. "Michelle Wie," Yin said. "If she sat next to me and said Hi to me, Id probably run." The 24-year-old Wie laughed when told about Yins response. "Its crazy," Wie said. "These girls are starting to make me feel really old." Wie played a four-hole stretch in 5 under, showing off all the talent that made her a star in her early teens and helped attract players like Yin to golf. "I just felt comfortable out there," Wie said. Wie stalled at the end, lipping out a 3-foot par putt on the par-3 17th and settling for par on the par-5 18th. "Ill take a 67 here," Wie said Wie birdied the par-5 ninth and par-4 10th, made a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th and moved into a tie for the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 12th. She got up-and-down for par from near a steep face in a bunker on the par-4 15th, hitting to 1 1/2 feet with her left foot almost 2 feet above her right. "Just was aggressive on the holes I needed to be and conservative on the other holes," Wie said Wie is making her 12th start in the tournament. She was ninth in 2003 at age 13, fourth the following year and tied for third at 16 in 2006. "I think when youre younger youre kind of fearless," Wie said. "You dont know what failure is." Wie has two LPGA Tour victories, winning the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico and the 2010 Canadian Womens Open. She has been in the top 16 in all five of her starts this year, finishing a season-best fourth in Thailand. "Im so grateful to have rounds like these," Wie said. Paired with 58-year-old Hall of Famer Amy Alcott, Feng rebounded from a bogey on 15 with a birdie on par-4 16th. "I made a bogey on 15, and she was like, OK, lets make two birdies back in the last three holes," Feng said. "I was like, Yes, maam." Alcott shot an 81 in her 36th start in the event she won in 1983, 1988 and 1991. In 1988, she became the first player to take the now-traditional victory leap into Poppies Pond. "She was very sweet starting off and we were talkative," Alcott said. "She hits it very solid. Just a very, very talented young player." The 36-year-old won the last of her five major titles in 2006. "Just a solid round," Pak said. "The greens got a little firmer, but I got pretty good distance control." Anna Nordqvist, the winner in Carlsbad for her second victory of the year, opened with a 71. Playing partner Stacy Lewis, the 2011 winner, had a 73. Lewis struggled off the tee, hitting drives to the right. "If I can straighten out my driver Ill be right there," Lewis said. Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko and Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, also a two-time winner this year, were in the group at 73. Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship. Custom Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No. https://www.cheapgoldenknights.com/ . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club.DETROIT -- Even by the Detroit Pistons recent standards, this was an abrupt change. Detroit fired coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after less than a year as coach, with the Pistons languishing well below .500 despite off-season moves aimed at putting the struggling franchise back in contention. Detroit is 21-29, and although the Pistons still have a decent chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, their new roster has performed erratically. "This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change," team president Joe Dumars said in a statement. "We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work." A person with knowledge of Detroits plans said assistant John Loyer will take over as interim coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced an interim coach yet. The Pistons havent made the playoffs since being swept in the first round in 2009 -- in Michael Currys only season as their coach. Since then, Detroit has gone through two seasons under John Kuester and two under Lawrence Frank. After neither of them could make any real progress, Cheeks was brought in as Detroits ninth coach since the 1999-2000 season. In addition to hiring Cheeks last off-season, Detroit signed forward Josh Smith and traded for point guard Brandon Jennings, trying to bolster a roster that already included young big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. But the mix has been uninspiring for the most part. The Pistons have had problems defensively and have struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter. The poor attendance thats become commonplace at The Palace hasnt really improved -- and Detroits 11-15 home record hasnt helped. "Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change," Pistons owner Tom Gores said Sunday. "We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress." Detroit is only a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the East, but thats largely because so many teams in the conference are having similar problems. The Pistons are only three games better than they were after 50 games last season. Cheeks became the first coach to leave or be fired after 50 games or fewer with an NBA team since Bob Weiss, who coached only 30 games forr Seattle in 2005-06, according to STATS. Vegas Golden Knights Pro Shop. That does not include interim coaches. "The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around," Gores said. "I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach." The Pistons have won four of six, including back-to-back blowouts at home against Brooklyn and Denver on Friday and Saturday. They host San Antonio on Monday night, and the team has not made any announcement about who will coach that game. Cheeks previously coached Portland and Philadelphia, a team he won an NBA title with as a point guard. The Pistons gave him his third shot to be an NBA head coach in June. Gores was in attendance at a recent game and said he thought the team was better than its record. "Im not satisfied. Our job is to make sure that our players are at their maximum," Gores said after that Feb. 1 game against Philadelphia. "Im not satisfied with the job Im doing. Im not satisfied with the job anyone is doing." At that point, speculation centred around the upcoming trade deadline and the possibility that Detroit might shake up its roster again. Now, the Pistons are hoping another coaching change can improve the franchises outlook. Detroit made the conference finals six straight years from 2003-08, but the teams fall was swift after that, and rebuilding has been difficult. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Pistons championship in 2004 -- and the atmosphere at The Palace could hardly be more different. "Were focused on how to make our players the best," Gores said earlier this month. "I dont think weve done our best job of making sure they are at their best. They are working at 100 per cent, but these are young men who need a lot of preparation." The Pistons became the third major pro team in Detroit to make a coaching or managerial change in the past six months. Jim Leyland of the Tigers stepped down and was replaced by Brad Ausmus after last season, and the Lions fired Jim Schwartz in late December, eventually replacing him with Jim Caldwell. So Ausmus, who has yet to manage a game, is now the second-longest tenured manager or coach of the citys four major pro teams. Yahoo Sports first reported Cheeks firing. ' ' '