ekansekans's blog: "df"

AKRON, Ohio -- Keegan Bradley felt as though he should have had another PGA Tour victory by now. Limited Roddy White Jersey . He might not have guessed it would happen at Firestone. Bradley was one shot behind, a deficit that looked even larger when he walked up to the 18th green Sunday in the Bridgestone Invitational and saw only the top half of his golf ball, the rest of it buried in sand. Jim Furyk, who had led this World Golf Championship the entire way, was in a collar of rough just outside the bunker. What followed left both of them surprised. With a slightly downhill lie, Furyk tried to sweep the shot over the bunker and came down a little steep with his wedge. The ball barely cleared the bunker and nestled into thick grass. More groans from the gallery followed when he chopped that out about 5 feet short of the hole, and suddenly was on the ropes. Bradley, meanwhile, blasted his bunker shot some 15 feet by the hole, the best he could do. He made the par putt, slamming his fist toward the cup in celebration. Furyk, under serious pressure for the first time all week, badly pushed his putt to the right for a double bogey. He dropped his putter and stooped over, a mixture of shock and disgust at how he had thrown away a chance to finally win at Firestone, collect his first World Golf Championship and win for the first time in nearly two years. "My hope standing on the 18th tee was to make birdie and maybe force a playoff," said Bradley, whose final par gave him a 6-under 64. "Just from being out here, you just never know whats going to happen." Furyk walked over to the gallery to see his 8-year-old son, Tanner, in tears. Minutes later, he agreed to a television interview and offered no excuses. "I have no one to blame but myself," Furyk said. "But when things go wrong, its an empty feeling. Im disappointed. I walked over, my boy is crying right after the round. And I guess it reminds you as an adult -- as a parent -- that you have to act the proper way. You have to do and say the right things to try to give the right lessons. "But theres no way I should have made any worse than 5 on the last hole," he said. "Theres no way I should have done worse than a playoff." Considering how this year has gone -- and the players involved in this stunning twist -- perhaps it should not have been a surprise. Bradley headed to Kiawah Island for the PGA Championship, where a year ago he was five shots behind with three holes to play when he made two birdies, Jason Dufner made three bogeys, and Bradley became an unlikely winner after a three-hole playoff. Furyk was tied for the lead at the U.S. Open this summer at Olympic Club until he hooked a tee shot into the trees to make bogey on the par-5 16th and never made up ground over the final two holes. And then there was the British Open two weeks ago. Adam Scott had a four-shot lead over Ernie Els with four holes to play at Royal Lytham & St. Annes until he finished with four straight bogeys, and the birdie Els made on his last hole proved to be the winner. The comparisons with Scott were natural, not in the way Furyk lost the tournament, but how he felt. "Ive know its a cruel game for a long time," he said. "I feel bad for what happened to Adam, but I think that it doesnt affect you when its not you, if that makes sense. So I go back to the U.S. Open and the chance I had there, coming in tied with three holes to play, and I played poorly the last three holes. And here, I led the golf tournament the entire way and lost it on the very last hole. "To get that close and to know that I played more than good enough to win the golf tournament, and not close the door, is disappointing," he said. "It is a cruel game. Ive lost some tournaments in some pretty poor fashions, but I dont think Ive let one ever slip nearly as bad as this one. This was my worst effort to finish off an event." He finished with a 69, and that double bogey dropped him into a tie with Steve Stricker, who made four birdies on his last five holes for a 64. Louis Oosthuizen also had a 69 to finish fourth. The final hole was so bizarre that at one point, there was a possibility of a four-way playoff if Bradley and Furyk had missed their putts and Oosthuizen had made a 15-foot birdie. Instead, it was Bradley alone at 13-under 267, the 11th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship, a $1.4 million check and a bonus that he didnt even know about until he was signing flags for posterity and charity. Bradley went from No. 9 to No. 4 in the Ryder Cup standings, all but assuring him a spot on the team. That moved Phil Mickelson to No. 8 -- only the top eight qualify for the U.S. team after the PGA Championship -- and Hunter Mahan to No. 9. Next is Stricker, who picked up valuable points with a tie for second, followed by Furyk at No. 11 and Rickie Fowler. Bradley became the 11th player this year -- and fourth in the last five weeks -- to come from at least four shots behind in the final round to win. The double bogey by Furyk will be the lasting impression of this tournament, though Bradleys finish should not be ignored. He holed 25-foot birdie putts twice on the front nine, made a nifty par save on the ninth and got back in the game on the 10th hole. He had 20-foot behind the flag, while Furyk had a 6-footer. Furyk was poised to go five shots in front, but he missed and Bradley made to cut the deficit to three. Bradley shot 31 on the back nine, taking only 12 putts. He closed with two tough par saves. He won. "Keegan played a heck of a back nine," Furyk said. "He did everything he needed to do to win the golf tournament. I felt like I did the same, until the 18th hole." Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey . 27 NHL Trade Deadline looming, teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell and deciding which players can make the biggest difference or hold the greatest value. Black Roddy White Jersey . Lipon had three goals and four assists in two games to help the Blazers win back to back games. The 19-year-old Regina native scored a goal and three assists Friday as Kamloops routed the Seattle Thunderbirds 7-2, and had two goals and an assist Saturday when the Blazers won 4-1 over the Medicine Hat Tigers. http://www.theatlantafalconsgear.com/julio-jones-jerseys . -- Wide receiver Donald Driver is hinting he has a deal in place to return to the Green Bay Packers. Tony Gonzalez Jerseys . 6. The surge in points for European teams pushed Brazil down six place to No.11 and its worst position since the rankings began in 1993. The 2014 World Cup host is hurt by not playing any competitive matches recently. Kroy Biermann Jersey . -- Jacksonville Jaguars first-round draft pick Justin Blackmon pleaded guilty Tuesday to drunken driving in Oklahoma last month and was given a sentence that includes no jail time for the former Oklahoma State star. PHILADELPHIA -- Carlos Zambrano beat the Phillies with his arm and his bat. Zambrano homered and pitched into the eighth inning, and Hanley Ramirez went deep, too, leading the Miami Marlins to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. "As a pitcher in the National League, you have to be able to bunt, run, hit and I take that seriously," Zambrano said. "Im proud of what I do anytime on the mound. When Im on the mound I feel like a pitcher, but when Im in the box I feel like a hitter." Zambrano (4-3), who said he was pitching with the flu, allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven before leaving with two outs in the eighth. "He continued to throw the ball very well," Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He threw a lot of strikes and his breaking ball was outstanding." Jose Reyes went 2 for 5 with a double and two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Juan Pierre had three hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which lost its second straight. "He chopped us up pretty good today, we never could get any pressure on him," Pierre said of Zambrano. "He just did a great job today." Zambrano said his flu symptoms included a headache, sore throat and weak feeling. "My arm felt good and thats the most important thing," he said. Heath Bell came on with two on and one out in the ninth and got a pair of groundouts for his 12th save in 16 chances. In the third inning, Zambrano hit the first pitch he saw to deep left for his first homer of the season and 24th of his career to give Miami a 1-0 lead. Zambrano leads all pitchers since 1974 with 24 career home runs. A switch-hitter, Zambrano batted from the left side against Phillies starter Joe Blanton. "Good connection and the ball went out," Zambrano said. "The Lord gave me ability to be able to hit and Im not a small man. Im a big man and every time I hit the ball good, the ball will travel far." Ramirez led off the fourth with his third homer in two games to put the Marlins up 2-0. In his last six games, Ramirez is 12 for 24 with four homers and three doubles. "Hes swinging at more strikes," Guillen said. "Hes put himself in great position to hit the ball hard. Hes not chasing that many bad pitches." Miami tacked on three runs in the seventh. Zambrano reached on a perfectly placed bunt siingle down the third base line, loading the bases with no outs. Atlanta Falcons Gonzalez Jersey. Reyes followed with a two-run double to right-centre that gave Florida a 4-0 lead and ended the day for Blanton. Blanton (4-6) allowed five runs and nine hits in six-plus innings. In his last four starts, the right-hander is 0-3 with a 10.98 ERA while allowing 10 homers in 19 2-3 innings. "You never want to give up five runs but I felt like it was a huge improvement over the way I threw the last two to three times, even though the results dont look much better," Blanton said. "I felt like it was a lot better." Florida went ahead 5-0 when Zambrano scored from third on a wild pitch by right-hander Chad Qualls. Zambrano retired 13 straight batters between the second and sixth innings, ending when Pierre doubled with one out in the sixth: Pierre reached second on a slap bunt down the left-field line that eluded charging third baseman Ramirez. Pierres eighth-inning two-out RBI single to centre scored Brian Schneider for the Phillies run. Reyes kept his hitting streak alive with an infield single in the fifth kept. He is batting .373 (22 for 59) during it. "Hes swinging the bat good and hitting the ball hard," Guillen said of Reyes. "Even the outs, hes (hitting the ball) square. I didnt expect anything less from him. This kids a great hitter." Shane Victorino singled in the ninth, finishing 1-for-4 and now has four hits in his last 30 at-bats over the last nine games. NOTES: Ramirez lost control of his bat while striking out in the fifth, launching it into the stands. He quickly went over and asked for the bat back. ... The Philadelphia crowd of 45,356 was the 231st consecutive regular-season sellout and 247th straight counting post-season play. . The Phillies are scheduled to face Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-3, 2.42) when they open a four-game series at 7:05 Monday night. RHP Vance Worley (3-2, 3.07) was activated from the 15-day DL following the game and C Erik Kratz was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Phillies 2B Chase Utley, out all season with a knee injury, will begin his rehab assignment Monday in extended spring training in Clearwater, Fla. ... After Mondays day off, Marlins RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-3, 2.57) is scheduled to face Atlanta RHP Tim Hudson (3-2, 4.60) when Miami hosts the Braves at 7:10 Tuesday. 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