Fresh, Rested Tiger Woods Aims for Comeback at Torrey Pines

Filed under: PGA

SAN DIEGO -- Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 2011 Tiger Woods Show. Kick back. Settle in. For one reason or another, this should be interesting.

Just more than a year after the most damaging and costly car-hits-fire-hydrant collision in motor vehicle history, Woods arrived Wednesday at Torrey Pines, site of this week's PGA stop -- the Farmers Insurance Open -- ready to begin the task of distancing himself from a lost season.

Not only did the game's most famous player go winless in 2010, the first shutout in his 15-season career, he also lost a carefully crafted image, a marriage, and, according to many, the aura of invincibility that he wore like armor.

After a record 281 consecutive weeks as the world's No. 1 ranked player, he now trails England's Lee Westwood and Germany's Martin Kaymer. In an effort to revive his sagging game, Woods undertook the fourth retooling of his swing, teaming with teaching pro Sean Foley in August and working feverishly during the off-season.

Now, it's time to start competing all over again. But will it all come back, or has the magic been lost?

"Well, I think in order to play this game at a high level, it helps to have a clear mind," Woods said Wednesday. "I've played at the high levels before in the past without a clear mind, but it helps to be consistent. It helps having your life in balance.

"Certainly my life is much more balanced than it was in the past. That is exciting for me. I think it's exciting for my kids, and we're really looking forward to it."

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Elliott: Farmers Insurance Open Preview | Point/Counterpoint
More: Farmers Open Tee Times | Latest golf Photos

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Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2011/01/26/fresh-rested-tiger-woods-aims-for-comeback-at-torrey-pines/

Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie

Mark Wilson Survives Marathon Day to Win Sony Open

Filed under: PGA

HONOLULU (AP) -- Mark Wilson made it through a 36-hole marathon Sunday without a bogey and held on for a two-shot victory in the Sony Open that will take him to the Masters for the first time.

Wilson shot a 5-under 65 in the morning to take a one-shot lead into the afternoon round. He stretched his lead to four shots at the turn, then had to hang on when Tim Clark and Steve Marino made late runs on different sides of Waialae.

Clark, who started the final round five shots behind, birdied three of his last four holes. He narrowly missed an eagle putt on the ninth hole and settled for a 64. Then came Marino with two late birdies and one incredible shot that at least gave him hope.

Two shots behind on the par-5 18th, with his feet in the bunker and his ball about chest-high on the side of a hill, Marino blasted a fairway metal from 234 yards away that landed on the front of the green and rolled 40 feet away. His eagle putt narrowly missed, giving him a 68.

Wilson made one last birdie he didn't need, giving him a 67 for his third career victory.

"It was nice to go right to the tee and not have to think about it," Wilson said of having only a few minutes before the third and fourth rounds. "I'm thankful it's over now."

Wilson, who finished at 16-under 264, played his final 40 holes without a bogey. That proved significant at a couple of points in the final round. He got into trouble on the eighth hole and was 150 yards out in the fairway playing his third shot, sure to lose some of his two-shot lead. But he stuffed it to 7 feet for par, then birdied the ninth to expand his lead to four.

Even bigger was his par on the 17th, even though Wilson didn't realize it.

 

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Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2011/01/16/mark-wilson-takes-sony-open-by-two-shots/

Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto

Fight for the Troops 2 weigh-in: Mitrione and Hague get to know each other

All the UFC fighters on the Fight for the Troops 2 card are ready to go, but it looked like Matt Mitrione and Tim Hague were ready to thrown down on the stage during the weigh-in Ft. Hood in Killeen, Tx. (video).

After weighing in at a combined 516 pounds, the big boys got nose-to-nose (18:15 mark).

Mitrone, who generally fights around 253, was at a UFC career-high 260 while Hague was slimmer than normal at 256.5.

It was also worth keeping an eye on the condition of the fighters in the other heavyweight bout.

Joey Beltran, a blown up light heavyweight, looked doughy as usual. He's survived fighting at 230 with a little extra meat around his midsection, but his opponent Pat Barry has shown that if he blows up too much it can hurt his cause.

Barry weighed a UFC career-high 248 before his loss at UFC 115 to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. He was between 233-237 during his first three UFC fights. Today, he weighed in at a more manageable 240. 

The main event fighters, Evan Dunham and Melvin Guillard both arrived on weight as did the remaining 18 fighters.

Mike Guymon and DaMarques Johnson produced one of the goofiest weigh-in staredowns in the history of fighting, as both fighters smiled for the camera (9:10 mark).

Yves Edwards was also in a relaxed mood. He made weight while eating potato chips on the scale and was even nice enough to offer Cody McKenzie a few chips (10:45 mark). 

Let's not leave out the Octagon girls. Those camouflage numbers were pretty nice. 

MAIN CARD

Evan Dunham (156) vs. Melvin Guillard (155)
Tim Hague (256.5) vs. Matt Mitrione (260)
Mark Hominick (145.5) vs. George Roop (145)
Pat Barry (240) vs. Joey Beltran (230)
Cole Miller (155.5) vs. Matt Wiman (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Yves Edwards (155) vs. Cody McKenzie (155)
Mike Guymon (170.5) vs. DaMarques Johnson (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Mike Brown (146) vs. Rani Yahya (145)
Willamy Freire (155) vs. Waylon Lowe (156)
Amilcar Alves (171) vs. Charlie Brenneman (171)
Chris Cariaso (135) vs. Will Campuzano (135)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Fight-for-the-Troops-2-weigh-in-Mitrione-and-Ha?urn=mma-310908

Rob Broughton  Mike Brown  Junie Browning Paul Buentello  Josh Burkman 

Marty Hurney Says Panthers' Not Throwing in Towel on QB Jimmy Clausen

Filed under: Panthers, NFC South

Marty Hurney, the Carolina Panthers' general manager, told The Charlotte Observer the team's No. 1 priority is to get the quarterback situation fixed. That's not a revelation, but then Hurney indicated Jimmy Clausen is not going to be easily cast aside as a bust. He still might be the organization's quarterback of the future.

It also seems to say that Carolina is not going to chase Blaine Gabbert of Missouri or Ryan Mallett as Arkansas as the team's franchise quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Clausen had a dreadful season in 2010. He was 1-9 as a starter and had trouble with accuracy and taking care of the blitzes. The quarterback has to be responsible for the extra rusher at times and Clausen did not deal with that well.

He was a rookie and needs time. Clausen was thrown into the starter's role because Matt Moore was not playing well and then Moore was injured.

"That's the No.1 need," Hurney told the Observer about the quarterback position in Carolina. "I think we have good players. It all starts with solidifying that spot. That's something that everybody in the league would agree with.

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/28/marty-hurney-says-panthers-not-throwing-in-towel-on-qb-jimmy-cl/

Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran

UFC, Spike TV Reach New Deal to Show Preliminary Fights

by Michael David SmithThe one-hour preliminary shows before UFC pay-per-views are returning to Spike TV in 2011.

Although the UFC's first pay-per-view of 2011 saw its preliminary card appear on Ion TV, whose demographics are not a good fit with the UFC, Spike has now announced that it has re-upped with the UFC to show 12 prelims, which represents almost all of them for the rest of the year.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/24/ufc-spike-tv-reach-new-deal-to-show-preliminary-fights/

Melvin Guillard Cody Guinn Jorge Gurgel Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson

Defendant in Jersey Shore murder trial says he killed British tourist in self-defense

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - In an unconventional opening statement in Superior Court on Wednesday, a Cape May County man serving as his own lawyer admitted that he killed a British tourist who tried to intervene on his behalf during an alleged "gang-style" fight in Margate in 2007.

Source: http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=166721&44=114703964&32=3796&7=195342&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Ffront_page%2F20110127_Defendant_in_Jersey_Shore_murder_trial_says_he_killed_British_tourist_in_self-defense.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Yankees' Offseason Has Been Heavy on Talk, Light in Substance

Filed under: Yankees, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Free Agency

Note: Brian Cashman took exception to the use of the word "backtracks" in this column, and I told him it was probably a poor choice of words in order to get off a one-liner. Cashman insisted he has not "backtracked" this winter but has often had to explain himself (usually as a function of the way modern media, in an era of immediacy, often lends itself to misinterpretation, misquoting or incompletness).

Cashman said he was misinterpreted on the Pettitte story -- the article was eventually taken down from the website -- that he was honest about being overruled on Soriano and that some outlets misquoted his Jeter/outfield remarks, forcing him to clarify his stance. I stand by my main point: Cashman's repeated appearance in somewhat controversial stories -- even if not his fault -- have partially covered up a Yankees offseason that hasn't gone as hoped, but that doesn't mean he is looking to leave New York. -- Ed Price

When the Yankees move Derek Jeter to center field, they have to hope he backtracks as well as Brian Cashman has this winter.

Three times in the past few weeks, Cashman has had to come up with ways to explain away some quotes.

The Yankees general manager said the New York Daily News misquoted him when it reported he said Andy Pettitte would not be able to pitch when the 2011 season opens but could come back midseason.

He declared he wouldn't sign reliever Rafael Soriano as a setup man because it would cost the Yankees their first-round draft pick. Once the Yankees did indeed sign Soriano, Cashman made it known that he was overruled by ownership.

He was then quoted, at a fan function, as saying that he didn't expect Jeter to last at shortstop for the entirety of his four-year contract extension, with a move to the outfield as the next step. Cashman played the "out of context" card on that one.

 

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Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/01/26/yankees-offseason-has-been-heavy-on-talk-light-in-substance/

Don Frye Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić