BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Billy Martin Jersey . -- Mark Calcavecchias 8-foot closing putt for birdie put him in a better mood and sole possession of the second-round lead in the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek. Calcavecchia insisted that only the first benefit was meaningful. He shot his second straight 3-under 69 on Friday to reach 6 under and take a one-stroke lead over Jay Haas at the Champions Tour major. Haas had a 70 after they came in as part of a four-way tie in the major championship. Haas missed a 4-footer on No. 18 to give Calcavecchia a shot at the solo lead at the midway point. Calcavecchia said finishing with a birdie improves his mood, lead or no lead. "It really doesnt matter, other than the fact that Im happier that I made the putt on the last hole, made the 8-footer for birdie as opposed to missing it," said Calcavecchia, who is seeking his first Champions Tour win since the 2012 Montreal Championship. "Sixty-nine sounds better than 70, it always has. "It always feels good to birdie the last hole. Leading as opposed to being tied for the lead, that makes no difference whatsoever to me." It was the highest score for a 36-hole leader at the Tradition since J.C. Snead was 6 under at Desert Mountain in 1996. The 36-hole leader has only won one of the last nine majors on the 50-and-over tour, with the exception being Mark Wiebe last year in the Senior British Open. Calcavecchias main concern is a rib problem he aggravated late in Thursdays round, leading to upper back spasms. He said it began flaring up again after swings starting on No. 14 Friday. "Its like a delayed reaction, then it kind of goes away," he said. Kenny Perry and Olin Browne were 4 under. Perry had a 68, and Browne shot 71. Browne was part of the first-round logjam along with Chien Soon Lu, who shot a 77. Haas birdied the first four holes, and Calcavecchia had three birdies on the first six holes. "I didnt put myself into a lot of bad positions," Haas said. "Being 4 under after four was kind of a dream start and it kind of slowly got away from me. But I like my position. I feel pretty good about my situation going into the weekend." He bogeyed No. 5 after landing in the bunker and then three-putted No. 15 for another bogey. Haas followed that with a 35-footer for birdie on No. 16. Calcavecchia also had a bogey on the 15th hole after having a bad lie about 10 yards right of the green. He chipped it some 15 feet past the hole. Calcavecchia said he started his round knowing Haas had gotten off to a good start and that Tom Pernice Jr. -- who finished with a 70 and was four strokes back -- had also opened with four straight birdies. Beyond that, he said hes not a scoreboard watcher. "Theres no point in really looking at this stage," Calcavecchia said. "Youre just trying to play the course and make as many birdies as possible and pars. Still a long way to go. If it was a three-rounder like most of our regular tournaments, it would be a little different story maybe. But were only halfway done." Haas takes a different approach. "I look at scoreboards all the time," he said. "I like seeing my name up there and seeing whats going on and all that. Its such a long race and theres so much golf left to be played that Im not too concerned about one shot here and there. You hate to throw any shots away obviously, but Im still feeling pretty good about where I am." Perry had three birdies on the final nine holes and was already looking forward to Round 3. "Saturdays the rocking chair day as I call it, and Ive got to make my move on that day," said Perry, who also had two bogeys. "I need to shoot another one of these or a little better to get back into it for Sunday." Defending champion David Frost was five strokes back and two-time winner Tom Lehman was six away from the lead. Both had 71s. Fred Couples was 7 over after a 77. Reggie Jackson Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Mike Mussina Jersey . - The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/ .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis both gave up runs for the first time in nearly three months as the Kansas City Royals dominant bullpen was touched up Tuesday night in a 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Davis replaced Herrera with two on in the seventh inning and walked Jose Abreu to load the bases for Conor Gillaspie, who cleared them with a triple to right-centre on a 2-2 pitch to give Chicago a 7-5 lead. That ended Herreras scoreless streak at 30 2-3 innings, dating to June 24. Also snapped was Davis shutout streak of 31 2-3 innings, a club record for a reliever, with the first run charged to him since June 25. The rare bullpen failure prevented Kansas City from gaining ground on AL Central leader Detroit, which lost at Minnesota. The Royals remained 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers, but still lead Seattle for the second wild-card spot. Kansas City used nine pitchers, a club record for a nine-inning game, in a contest that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes -- the longest nine-inning game in Royals history. Nori Aoki had his second straight four-hit game, including a sixth-inning single that put the Royals up 5-4, but this time the bullpen couldnt hold it. Adam Eaton had four hits, matching his career high, and scored two runs for Chicago. Royals manager Ned Yost went to his bullpen early when starter Liam Hendriks was pulled after three-plus innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk. J.A. Happ Jersey. In his past three outings, Hendriks has allowed 11 runs and 18 hits in 9 1-3 innings. White Sox rookie right-hander Chris Bassitt also failed to make it out of the fourth. He threw 94 pitches in 3 2-3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. Eric Surkamp (2-0) got the win, and Zach Putnam worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save. TRAINERS ROOM White Sox: DH-1B Paul Konerko, who has not played since breaking his left hand on Sept. 2, took extended batting practice. "When hes fit to play hell get some time," manager Robin Ventura said. "I dont necessarily want him going out there not having swung a bat in two weeks. Hell get an at-bat here or there to acclimate him." Royals: LHP Danny Duffy, who skipped two starts because of a sore shoulder, threw a four-inning simulated game. "Theres nothing wrong," Duffy said. "I felt stronger than I did for about the past month." He is slated to start Monday in Cleveland. UP NEXT White Sox: LHP Chris Sale, an AL Cy Young Award contender, starts the series finale. He has trouble with Royals DH Billy Butler, who has a .359 career average against him with three home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs in 39 at-bats. Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura has nine made consecutive quality starts, a club record for rookies. ' ' '