Sonstiges » and travails of the past five years in State College might b

TROON, Scotland -- Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson went toe-to-toe for four hours Saturday at The Open, trading pivotal par saves and four lead changes in the cold wind and occasional rain at Royal Troon.And now they get to do it again, this time with the Claret Jug at stake.Stenson had a pair of two-shot swings on the inward par-3s and got up-and-down on the 18th for a 3-under 68, the second straight day that no one had a better score. It gave the 40-year-old Swede his first 54-hole lead in a major, by one shot over Mickelson, who is going for his sixth major.Links golf can deliver some strange finishes, though this had all the trappings of a two-man race on Sunday.Stenson had his third straight round in the 60s -- no one has ever won at Royal Troon with all four rounds in the 60s -- and was at 12-under 201. He is trying to become only the eighth player dating to Old Tom Morris in 1861 to win his first major after turning 40.Mickelson, winless since he lifted golfs oldest trophy at Muirfield three years ago, had a 70.Lefty had made only three bogeys in his past 103 holes at Royal Troon dating to 1997, and a 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole gave him a two-shot lead. Stenson answered with a 5-iron to 6 feet for birdie, and Mickelson three-putted for bogey. They were tied.Mickelson regained the lead with a pitch to 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 16th, only for the Swede to answer again, this time with an all-out 3-iron into the wind on the 220-yard 17th hole to 20 feet. Mickelson fell behind when he missed the green to the left, and failed to hole a par putt from 18 feet.Everyone else felt like mere spectators.Bill Haas, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour who is rarely heard from at majors, was solid with a 69 and alone in third. Its his highest position ever in a major, yet he was six shots out of the lead. Another shot back was Andrew Johnston, the Englishman with a big belly and beard to match who goes by Beef. He broke par for the third straight day with a 70.It was unlikely to matter.This was all about Stenson and Mickelson, two powerful players with different styles and different credentials.Unless someone goes out there and posts a silly number, Stenson said. But as of now, I would pretty much think its a battle of Phil and myself.I know he never backs down and hes one of the best players to play the game. Im just going to try my hardest to keep him behind.Mickelson finished three shots ahead of Stenson three years ago at Muirfield when Lefty closed with a 66 in one of the best final rounds of a major. He hasnt won another tournament since then, and at age 46, it appeared his time was running out.Troon is where he first figured out the secret to links golf, and he has managed to avoid big numbers all week. He has made only four bogeys in 54 holes as he goes after a sixth major that would put him alongside Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino.He also would be the third-oldest major champion behind Julius Boros (48) and Morris, with whom Mickelson shares a birthday (June 16) 109 years apart. The 1861 Open was held in September.Mickelson didnt swing as well as the first two days. His short game, as always, was magic. No save was more unlikely than the 12th, where he pushed his tee shot toward trouble and was fortunate the ball deflected off a piece of prickly gorse. He had just enough room to hammer it up the fairway, and then played a shot rarely seen in links golf -- instead of running it up along the ground, he used his quick hands to produce enough backspin to bring it back down a ridge to 6 feet from the hole.It was a battle, and Mickelson held his own.I was under par on a difficult day, he said. It could have easily got away from me. I found a way to hang in there.That wasnt the case for so many others.U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson was working his way up the leaderboard until a shot into the gorse on the 11th led to a triple-bogey. Johnson made two double-bogeys the day before. Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark reached 8 under par until a double-bogey from thick grass on the 10th, and three more bogeys over the next four holes.Rickie Fowler started well until an 8 on the 11th hole.Mickelson-Stenson was the main event from the time they teed off. And it was like that when they finished. It was reminiscent of the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot, when Davis Love III and Justin Leonard shared the 54-hole lead and were seven clear of everyone else. Adidas Basketball Shoes Discount . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Wholesale Adidas Nmd Mens . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. http://www.cheapnmdsneakersireland.com/adidas-basketball-shoes.html . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Adidas Nmd Cheap Ireland . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Cheap Adidas Nmd Shoes .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. INDIANAPOLIS -- ?When the top four teams won this weekend, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee won a reprieve. The 12 representatives who will bask in the glow of their computer screens on Selection Day dont have to choose among equals.One can argue that No. 4 Washingtons 41-10 rout of No. 8 Colorado, coupled with No. 3 Clemsons 42-35 defeat of No. 23 Virginia Tech, means that the Huskies and Tigers should switch. But its hard to argue against rewarding the only four Power 5 teams that finished the season with one loss or fewer.No. 7 Penn State can make a compelling case, given that it won the Big Ten by a score of 38-31 over No. 6 Wisconsin on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium and defeated No. 2 Ohio State during the regular season. But the Buckeyes wont be the first team to lose and advance beyond a team that beat them.Florida State won the 1993 wire-service national championship over Notre Dame, a result that will send former Irish head coach Lou Holtzs blood pressure off the chart to this day. Seven years later, the Seminoles lost to Miami yet finished ahead of the Hurricanes in the BCS standings. It didnt help the young BCS credibility when Oklahoma pounded Florida State in the national championship game.Now, in Year 3, the credibility of the College Football Playoff will be tested on Selection Day. Those of us who like sports because there are clear-cut winners and losers hoped for no upsets and hoped the committee wouldnt have to make an impossible decision. After Penn State won Saturday night, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany refused the opportunity to pick among his constituents.I dont know what it means, Delany said. Is the Clemson game over?The Tigers had won.All the votes are in, Delany said. Ill be watching like everybody else.If No. 5 Michigan is mad about playing in the Capital One Orange Bowl, then the Wolverines should have done better than 2-2 on the road.Penn State could, like No. 10 USC, make a case that it is one of the four best teams in the country on Dec. 3. Picture a world, if you will, in which the roles this weekend were reversed. Penn State would be No. 2 and Wisconsin No. 5, and No. 6 Ohio State would play No. 7 Michigan for the Big Ten Championship. Does anyone think that Big Ten champion would be left out of the playoff?When the commissioners assembled the playoff four years ago, Delany pushed for the field to be the four best conference champions. He lost that argument. The College Football Playoff is trying to identify the four best teams based on -- all together now -- their entire body of work.That means games in September matter. Thats why Stanford didnt make the playoff a year ago, after it lost to Norrthwestern on Labor Day weekend.dddddddddddd Penn State lost to Pitt 39-36 in Week 2, which should bring a warm feeling to every Panther fan of a certain age who wants to resurrect the once-bitter annual rivalry with the Nittany Lions. Hey, Pitt, you just cost Penn State a shot at the national championship.The Nittany Lions mostly chose to not make their case for the playoff. The players did so with a smile. Junior middle linebacker Jason Cabinda, asked if he had any doubt that Penn State is one of the four best teams in the nation, said, Thats what I believe. We can hang with anybody in the country. No doubt.Thats where he stopped.Well hear whats announced, Cabinda said. Well be really appreciative of that opportunity. We cant wait to play that next game, regardless of who its against.The head coach spoke up a little more, which James Franklin does with the way he breathes. Its an involuntary muscular contraction.Every time I turn on the TV or read an article, people said this year the Big Ten Conference was by far the strongest conference in college football, Franklin said. Ive heard that over and over again. We just won the Big Ten Conference championship. ... So I think we can make a great case for ourselves.Barring a change of heart by the selection committee, Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl, the first prize among consolation prizes. It pains me to type that sentence.But there is, as Franklin went on to say, a lot to celebrate. Penn State won its first Big Ten championship since 2008 -- a lifetime ago if youre a Nittany Lion. Everyone in the Happy Valley was a lot younger then.The discord and travails of the past five years in State College might be why this team becomes as beloved as the 1992 Kentucky basketball team, the Unforgettables, the Wildcats who lost to Duke and Christian Laettners buzzer-beater in a regional final. All Kentucky had to overcome was NCAA probation.The Nittany Lions displayed a microcosm of their entire season: they started slow, falling behind the Badgers 28-7 in the second quarter. But once Penn State got a little momentum, the Nittany Lions couldnt be stopped. Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 384 yards, a personal best and a Big Ten Championship Game record, and four touchdowns, also a game record.We dont want to be a second-half team, senior receiver DaeSean Hamilton said after the game. Thats just how things worked out for us all season. ... We never had a sense of panic. Thats what makes this team special.This year, that will have to be enough. This year, it just might be. ' ' '