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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis golf fans are going all in for this years BMW Championship. Organizers say ticket sales for the citys biggest mens golf tournament since the 1991 PGA Championship have already surpassed last years total and that attendance for the four-day September tournament could approach 150,000. That would make it one of the tours most attended non-majors this season. "I think what it does is it shows how supportive Indianapolis can be when you have special events coming to town for our event or maybe another major somewhere down the road," said Vince Pellegrino, the Western Golf Associations vice-president of tournaments. "Its certainly been impressive." Daily tickets went on sale April 1, and fans are rushing to buy them despite not knowing who will actually play Sept. 6-9 at Crooked Stick Golf Course in suburban Indy. The top 70 qualifiers receive invites to the third tourney in the FedEx Cup playoff. After the BMW tourney, the field is cut to 30 finalists who vie for a $10 million winners check two weeks later in Atlanta. Masters champion Bubba Watson and three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, the worlds No. 1 player, and defending BMW champ Justin Rose are each ranked in the top 10 in FedEx Cup points and are likely to qualify for the Indy tourney. Tiger Woods, at No. 11 in points, also is likely to get an invite. And with almost five months to go before the tourney begins, the possibility of other big-name golfers earning invites and Indiana natives Bo Van Pelt and Jeff Overton potentially in the mix, organizers may have to revise their projections again. Comparing attendance figures can be tricky, though, because many tournaments do not release that information, and even Pellegrino declined to say what the BMW Championship drew last year in suburban Chicago. Organizers have already announced the tourney will return to Chicago in 2013 and 2015, with Denver hosting it in 2014. But Indys response could push the city into the BMW rotation or perhaps prompt tour officials to give Indianapolis a chance to fill a hole on a future schedule. "At the present time, we dont have any openings," PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said Tuesday. "But certainly, Indys record makes it a market that we would always be interested in at looking at if there was an open spot. A significant number of our events are signed through post-2014." Phoenix typically has the largest announced crowds for non-majors, but Midwestern cities such as St. Louis and Minneapolis have traditionally drawn well when they make it onto the schedule. Crooked Stick has, too. John Daly won his first major championship here in 1991, coming out of nowhere as an alternate to do it. Lauri Merten shocked everyone by finishing the 1993 U.S. Womens Open with three straight threes to win her only major title here. In 2005, the U.S. reclaimed the Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick when a then-record crowd of 103,500 showed up. And Fred Funk won the 2009 U.S. Senior Open in front of nearly 147,000 fans. The course and atmosphere drew rave reviews each time, and PGA officials think it could happen again in September. "Obviously, were excited about our prospects at Crooked Stick this year," Votaw said. "When we made the decision to take it to Crooked Stick, we were all hopeful that Indiana and Indianapolis would support the event in a significant way and these results certainly confirm that hope and optimism. Indy is a great golf town whether its the PGA Championship, whether its the U.S. Womens Open, whether its the Solheim Cup or the BMW, history has shown they love golf their golf at Crooked Stick." Local officials contend Indy makes sense for economic, geographic and travel reasons, and hosting the most recent Super Bowl has also increased the citys national stature. They also believe the area golf community would support a tournament on an annual or semi-annual basis. But so far, its just talk. "I know that each bid process is a little bit different in terms of the ones were managing and the ones were supporting. If theyre looking for assistance on future bids wed be happy to have those conversations," Indiana Sports Corp. spokesman John Dedman said. "I think there is a rotation that theyre looking into and with the event in early September, and I think it would behoove everybody to take a look at it and have those conversations." NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Defending champion John Isner and top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France both won Tuesday in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open. Cheap Jerseys From China . -- Coach Dennis Allen has a lot more to deal with than just a loss in his debut as Oakland Raiders coach. http://studyworx.org/china.html . The team activated shortstop John McDonald from the disabled list on Tuesday to take Roberts spot on the roster. McDonald had been sidelined since early June with a back injury. Teams can claim Roberts on waivers, but in the meantime the Diamondbacks have 10 days to work out a trade. GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Jeremy Lin was all the talk in New York during a sensational stretch last season. Now, the Knicks dont want to talk about him at all. At their annual media day, the Knicks tried to keep the focus on the aging team they assembled and believe is a contender, rather than on the phenom they let get away over the summer. Team officials had never commented on the decision not to match the offer sheet Lin signed with the Houston Rockets in July, and it took only two questions Monday before general manager Glen Grunwald and coach Mike Woodson were asked for an explanation. "Well, sure," Grunwald started, before Woodson, seated to his left at a podium, quickly interrupted. "Im not going to discuss Jeremy Lin," Woodson said. "I think as a franchise we wish Jeremy nothing but the best. It was a process that we went through, and we were able to get a player by the name of Raymond Felton, a guy by the name of Jason Kidd, Pablo (Prigioni) in here. Three solid point guards that I think will help our ballclub as we move down the road. "As an organization and as a coach, I wish Jeremy nothing but the best. This day really is about, I think, the team that we fielded this summer, and we need to focus in on that." That Lin wouldnt be a part of it would have been unfathomable in the spring. Undrafted out of Harvard and waived three times before the Knicks signed him, Lin finally got his chance in February with the team faltering. He averaged 24.6 points and 9.2 assists in 10 games from Feb. 4-20, pulling the Knicks into the playoff race, drawing worldwide interest as the NBAs first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese decent, and boosting the Knicks TV ratings and merchandise sales. His numbers declined after Woodson replaced the more offensive-minded Mike DAntoni in March, and his season ended after just 25 starts when he needed surgery to repair torn knee cartilage. Still, Woodson had insisted Lin would return and go into next season as the starting point guard, even after the restricted free agent had signed an offer sheet with the Rockets for four years and about $28 million. The Rockets amended the offer to three years and about $25 million, with the final year salary ballooning to nearly $15 million. In the meantime, the Knicks had signed Kidd, re-acquired Felton from Portland, and decided to pass on Lin. "Basically, it comes down to the fact tthat Houston made a commitment to him that we werent prepared to make," Grunwald said.dddddddddddd"Im very happy for Jeremy that things worked out for him very well personally and for his family, and I wish him the best. But Im more excited for our team, by the team weve assembled right now." Its an old one, with Kurt Thomas about to turn 40, Kidd doing so late next season and Marcus Camby 38. At one point Monday, Camby, Kidd and Thomas came to the podium in succession, totalling about 120 years of age. Rasheed Wallace is expected to join the old guys in the next couple of days after ending two years of retirement to sign. Felton is only 28 but appeared in decline last season, averaging a career-low 11.4 points and briefly losing his starting job. He acknowledged he arrived out of shape after the lockout, unsure there would even be a season. But both he and the Knicks insist hes in good condition now. "Im in shape now, ready to go and I got a big, big chip on my shoulder," Felton said. Felton played well for the Knicks during the 2010-11 season, averaging 17.1 points in 54 starts before he was sent to Denver as part of the package for Carmelo Anthony. His return was met with a lukewarm response -- and even some anger -- from many Knicks fans, not only because he played so poorly last season but because it paved the way for Lins departure. "Jeremy had a good run. Jeremy did a lot of good things here, so the fact that they didnt want him to leave, I mean, thats expected," Felton said. "Im not upset at that at all. I dont really care about that at all. Hes in Houston now; Im here in New York, back where I wanted to be. I did a lot of great things when I was here. Im looking forward to bringing those things back." There was speculation the Knicks were angry that Lin had gone back to the Rockets to get a second offer, which would have been so difficult for New York to afford because of the expensive luxury tax payments it would have been subjected to in the third year. But Grunwald said the decision was a simple matter of choosing the best fit. "You go through free agency and you have a lot of irons in the fire, a lot of options available to you, and we felt that the Raymond Felton option was the best one at the end of the day," Grunwald said. "We were excited to have Raymond back. "We werent disappointed at all." ' ' ' 

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