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scoring on a 10-yard run by D.J. Monroe
Topic Started: Jan 9 2013, 01:41 AM (50 Views)
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FARMINGDALE, N. Authentic Wes Welker Jersey .Y. -- Padraig Harrington found a way to take some of the attention away from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on Thursday. He made six birdies on the tough back nine of Bethpage Black and opened the FedEx Cup playoffs with a 7-under 64 for a one-shot lead at The Barclays. And that surely got the attention of Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal. Harrington has to rely on a captains pick to make his seventh straight European team, and that looks to be unlikely. Not only has the three-time major champion gone four years without winning against a strong field, he and Olazabal are not the best of friends after a dispute at the Seve Trophy from nine years ago. The Irishman had the toughest time Thursday after he got off the difficult Black course. There were so many questions about the Ryder Cup, his chances of making the team and what he has to do to impress Olazabal, that at one point Harrington adopted the American way. "The only answer I can give at this stage is Im pleading the Fifth Amendment on that one," Harrington said. "I honestly dont know what to say. I dont want to go in there and try too desperately to beg for a pick, or I dont want to go in there and give excuses for anything. Ill just leave it be what it is. Im just going to play golf." That part was superb on a calm day that became increasingly warm. It took Harrington a few holes to realize that he was back at Bethpage Black, but not at the U.S. Open. The greens were soft. The rough was deep, but not terribly dense. The pressure was not quite the same. And par wasnt going to cut it. He came to life on the back nine with four straight birdies to cap off his 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Nick Watney and Brian Harman among the early starters. The hotter it became, the crustier the greens were, and it was unlikely anyone would catch him. No one did. Sergio Garcia was part of the group at 66, while defending champion Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, both trying to make their own impression as potential picks by U.S. captain Davis Love III, were in the group at 67. There were 73 players from the 123-man field at par or better, not the kind of scoring associated with Bethpage Black. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., carded a 1-under 71. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., had a 4-over 74. Thousands of fans chased after Woods and McIlroy, in the marquee group based on their standing in the FedEx Cup -- Woods at No. 1, McIlroy at No. 3. Both of them got off to a reasonable start. Woods scrambled nicely to recover from a few errant shots and scratched out a 68. McIlroy smashed one driver after another to set up short irons into the greens, and while he had three birdies through six holes, he let the good start get away from him and settled for a 69. If this is a rivalry, it figures to be a friendly one. Woods genuinely likes this 23-year-old from Northern Ireland, who already has two eight-shot wins in the majors. He chatted more than usual, even for a Thursday, and during one wait on the par-3 14th, McIlroy listened intently with a smile on his face as Woods told a story, then broke into a big laugh upon hearing the punch line. Worth repeating for a family newspaper? "No," McIlroy said with another laugh. "Hes a nice kid, he really is," Woods said. "As I said yesterday, I played with him in Abu Dhabi. We struck up a friendship back then, and its continued. And I think its only going to get better." Woods won the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in 2002, and he tied for sixth when the U.S. Open returned to this public course on Long Island in 2009. It looks the same, especially how the rough frames each fairway. And while there were differences in the softness of the greens and hole locations, the most obvious difference was scoring. "I shot 3-under par and Im not even in the top 10," Woods said. "So its a little different deal." Harrington was even par through four holes, typically not a bad score, except that he watched Troy Matteson open with a birdie on the second hole and chip in for eagle on the fourth to reach 3 under early in the round. "It definitely helped me cross that divide between thinking Im at a U.S. Open and level par is going to be the winning total this week," Harrington said. "This is much more of a sprint. Youre going to need to be 12-under par at the end of the week, or who knows, but it aint going to be level par." Harrington would figure to face a different kind of pressure -- getting on the Ryder Cup team -- but he found a certain peace after realizing he couldnt earn his way onto the team after the PGA Championship. Even though Europes team is not finalized until after this week, ranking points from The Barclays dont count. So hes out. Unless he wins. And even that might not matter. Olazabal said at the PGA Championship that Harrington would have to do something extraordinary to make the team. He was told of Harringtons 64 and was asked what would constitute extraordinary. "At least a win," Olazabal said. Olazabal and Harrington had a tense moment at the 2003 Seve Trophy when Harrington questioned the Spaniard repairing pitch marks. Olazabal felt his integrity had been questioned, conceded the hole and they had a face-to-face discussion behind the green. Does that still linger? Might it make a difference? "From the character that he is, I believe he would put winning way above anything thats personal," Harrington said. "The Ryder Cup means so much to Europe, particularly to Jose as a European player. Nobody -- bar Seve -- would understand in his mind what it means to Europe. Winning is whats important to him. I cant see personal coming into it to get a winning team." Harrington then caught himself for talking about the very subject he wants to avoid. He would rather talk about his 64 at Bethpage Black, a strong effort even in soft conditions, or his chances to move up in the FedEx Cup standings and give himself a chance at the $10 million bonus prize. "Were talking about the wrong stuff," he said. "But Im Irish, and being brought up in Ireland, we pay a lot of attention to bookmakers and their odds. And Im sure if I went and had a look at the odds, I would be a long shot to make the team." Gronkowski Jersey . While they all enjoy playing in their home state, none excels here quite like Beaumont native Jay Bruce. Patriots Welker Jersey . -- The Glendale City Clerks Office has rejected petitions that sought to put a referendum on the November ballot about the Phoenix Coyotes pending arena management deal. http://www.shopnflpatriotsgear.com/aaron-hernandez-jersey/ . With Calgary trailing Edmonton by eight points late in their CFL pre-season clash, McDaniel caught a 15-yard pass from Sinopoli and then a five-yard pass for a two-point convert as the Stampeders rallied to tie the Eskimos 17-17 at 13:54 of the fourth quarter. Tom Brady Jersey . Turns out, the third basemans feet -- not to mention his glove -- work too. Alvarez scored on an unconventional slide in the second inning for the games only run and turned in a couple of defensive gems to help the Pirates to a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. Pink Brady Jersey . The New York Mets say Santanas next start will come Friday night at Yankee Stadium in the opener of the Subway Series. OXFORD, Miss. -- Texas started its night by running over Mississippis defence. When that got boring, the Longhorns ran around it. Finally, they let quarterback David Ash get in on the fun, lobbing long touchdowns as No. 14 Texas clobbered Mississippi 66-31 on Saturday night. By the end of the evening, the statistics were impressive. Ash threw for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns, receiver Marquise Goodwin accounted for 182 yards and two touchdowns and the Longhorns gained 676 yards. It was the most points Ole Miss has given up in a game since 1917. "Its not always that easy," Ash said. "But when youre playing physical and tough football, its amazing what you can accomplish." Ash connected on touchdown passes of 46 and 55 yards while completing 19 of 23 passes in a nearly flawless performance. Mike Davis caught five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. "I was really excited about the number of explosive plays we had tonight," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "After Marquises big play, our offence really played well and played with a lot of confidence the rest of the way." Texas (3-0) led 31-10 by halftime and 52-24 by the end of the third quarter. The Longhorns could have scored more than 70 points, but took a knee on their final two offensive plays rather than try to punch in one last touchdown. It was the only mercy shown toward the Ole Miss defence all night. "Defensively we were bad," first-year Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. "Weve got to go find out exactly why." Ole Miss (2-1) simply couldnt match the Longhorns prolific offence. Texas scored on seven straight possessions at one point, including touchdowns on six of those drives. Bo Wallace threw for 178 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions for the Rebels. Donte Moncrief caught seven passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. It was obvious from the beginning that Texas was the bigger and faster team. The Longhorns used their twin battering rams -- running backs Joe Bergerron and Malcolm Brown -- to pound away at the Ole Miss defensive line early in the game. Ras-I Dowling Jersey. And when the Rebels finally made some progress stopping the smash-mouth approach, Texas responded with a pair of big plays from Goodwin. He rushed for a 69-yard touchdown on a sweep to give Texas a 17-7 lead and then made a 47-yard catch on the next drive that set up another touchdown and pushed the Longhorns ahead 24-10. "We finally took advantage of opportunities that have been there for two games," Ash said. Ole Miss managed to keep things close for a little while, thanks to an 89-yard drive in the first quarter that ended with Randall Mackeys 3-yard touchdown run. But the Rebels rarely gave Wallace much time to throw, and that contributed to his three interceptions and generally inconsistent night. Texas didnt waste any time putting the game away in the second half, scoring on a 10-yard run by D.J. Monroe and a 5-yard run by Malcolm Brown. By the end of the third quarter, the Longhorns had an insurmountable lead and the 61,797 in attendance started streaming for the exits. It was the fourth-largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway history. Those that stuck around watched Ole Miss freshman Jaylen Walton return a kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown. It was a good moment on an otherwise dismal night for the Rebels. Freeze said his team showed some fight even during the hopeless final minutes, but was clearly outclassed. "They definitely played better than we did," Freeze said. "(Texas is) a good team -- big, physical and fast." Ole Miss had some confidence coming into the game after winning two straight against UTEP and Central Arkansas. And the Rebels had some success against the Texas defence, gaining 399 total yards, including 229 passing and 170 rushing. Brown agreed that the Longhorns defence wasnt perfect, but he wasnt going to get greedy. "After every game you have concerns," Brown said. "But when you win 66-31 you have to be pleased." ' ' '
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