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| AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A quick stroll across the manicured landscape of Augusta National afforded a glimpse of why this Masters is so hard to figure out. On the putting green in a quiet moment of practice was 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, one of a record 24 newcomers who has every reason to believe he can win. On the golf course for the final day of practice was Webb Simpson, a former U.S. Open champion and one of 21 players who have captured the last 24 majors. And under the oak tree outside the clubhouse was Miguel Angel Jimenez, the 50-year-old Spaniard trying to make sense of it all. He recalled his first Masters in 1995, when Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal shared secrets to Augusta National, such as keeping the ball in the right spots on the green and "to realize here that the target is not the hole." "The more you play, the more you like, no?" Jimenez said as he leaned against his golf bag, looking relaxed as ever behind his aviator sunglasses. But as he considered the rookies -- Spieth and Patrick Reed, Harris English and Jimmy Walker -- he dismissed the notion that experience was required for a green jacket. "There are 24 guys here for the first time," he said. "But theres a reason they are here, no?" Nowhere to be found, of course, was Tiger Woods. Out of golf until the summer because of back surgery, out of the Masters for the first time in his career, the show goes on. "Well, we miss Tiger, as does the entire golf world," Masters chairman Billy Payne said. "He is always a threat to make a run and do well and win here at Augusta National. ... Nevertheless, this is the Masters. This is what we hope is the best tournament in the world, one of the greatest sporting events. And I think we will have a very impressive audience and have another great champion to crown this year." The course closed for practice Wednesday afternoon, and a stream of fans made their way over to the Par 3 Tournament, where occasional cheers broke the silence. It was a precursor of what was sure to follow over the next four days at a major that rarely fails to deliver drama. Even without Woods. "Its probably the most anticipated week of the year," Rory McIlroy said. "Its been eight months since weve had a major. Its Augusta. ... Theres a lot of guys that seem like once they drive up Magnolia Lane here, something lights up inside them." That could be Phil Mickelson, who last year won the British Open at age 42 and now has a chance to join Woods and Arnold Palmer with a fourth green jacket. It could be Adam Scott, trying to join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners. Considering how this year has gone, it could be anybody. Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and former Masters champion Zach Johnson are the only players from the top 10 who have won anywhere in the world. Only one of the last seven winners on the PGA Tour was ranked in the top 75. "I think if youre outside the top 50 in the world this week, youve got a great chance," U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said with a laugh. Rose, however, falls on the side of experience -- knowing where to miss, knowing where you cant afford to miss, where the hole locations tend to be on the contoured greens and using the slope to get the ball close. "Always you can have the unknowns," he said. "But I would say 15 guys are pretty strong favourites." Woods has become a polarizing figure in golf, especially at the Masters. Since he last won a green jacket in 2005, only once has Woods finished out of the top six. Thats what made him so compelling at Augusta. He always seems to be there. And thats why this Masters seems to lack definition. No one is dominating golf at the moment. Walker has the most PGA Tour wins (three) this season, but this is his first Masters. Scott had a chance to go to No. 1 in the world three weeks ago at Bay Hill, but he lost a three-shot lead in the final round to Matt Every, who had never won in his career. Never has there been this much chatter about Masters rookies. Then again, there has never been this many. And theyre not bashful about their chances. "Doesnt matter if youve played here once or if youve played here 50 times," Reed said. "When it comes down to it, its just going to be that whoever is playing the best is going to walk away with the trophy." So maybe its not that hard to figure out, after all. Custom Portland Trail Blazers Jerseys . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Damian Lillard Jersey . FLIP SAUNDERS (Timberwolves): Im not the least bit surprised that he appointed himself as head coach after his search concluded. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Terry-Porter-Blazers-Jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Zach Collins Blazers Jersey . Ronaldo netted his 14th goal of the season in Europes top competition to give Madrid a clear advantage ahead of next weeks quarterfinal return leg in Germany. But it came at a price as the Portugal forward, who came into the first-leg nursing a sore left knee, came off in the 80th minute. Anfernee Simons Jersey . THE THUNDER & PACERS BENCHES: In a nutshell, not impressive at all.OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators were looking for a little redemption and Saturday night they were able to find it. Coming off an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday night the Senators made the most of the rematch as they defeated the Bruins 4-3 at the Canadian Tire Centre. "Any time you drop a game like that and you get a chance for redemption and you dont take advantage of that things can spiral from there," said Bobby Ryan. "Hopefully this is a building block." Ryan was the games hero as he broke a 3-3 tie late in the third to give Ottawa the 4-3 lead. "We had it in our mind-set all night long that we were going to come out with two points (Saturday)," said Ryan. Patrick Wiercioch, Cory Conacher and Zack Smith also scored for the Senators (16-18-7). Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots to earn the victory. Daniel Paille, Jarome Iginla and David Warsofsky scored for the Bruins (26-11-2). Tuukka Rask allowed three goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Chad Johnson, who allowed one goal on 18 shots. Saturdays game marked the halfway mark of the season for the Senators, who continue to chase a playoff spot. Both teams were missing a number of key players, including their captains as Ottawa was without Jason Spezza and the Bruins were without Zdeno Chara. Both sat out with lower body injuries. The Senators got off to a strong start and managed to play well enough through 60 minutes to hold off the Bruins to the delight of the 20,500 on hand in Ottawa, but it didnt come easily. Smith was called for a faceoff violation with 1:51 remaining in regulation, leaving Ottawa shorthanded but with a 4-3 lead. Still, the Senators managed to hold off the hard-pressing Bruins and earn the win. "You never want to put your team in that position, but I had faith in the guys killing and obviously Anderson was playing very well," said Smith. "That was a tough one to take. Its not a call thats called consistently so I think someone has to get on the same page about that one. If theyre going to call it they have to call it all the time I think." Anderson was solid as the Senators held off the Bruins and when asked what it was like to face the onslaught he replied, "exhausting." "They had a 6-on-4 there and they were moving the puck pretty good and we got a couple of key blocks and that was the difference," said Anderson. "When youre out-manned like that anything can happen." Anderson admitted the team wasnt feeling very good after Fridays loss and says the fact they weree able to rebound with a win shows a lot of character.dddddddddddd "Its all about how you respond," said Anderson. "Its not about what happens to you its how you respond and I think we came out here and we responded in the right way. Now the key is we have to respond again going forward." Ryan scored the winner at 15:25 of the third after forcing a turnover at the Ottawa blue-line and breaking in alone, beating Johnson with a high backhand. Earlier, the Senators caught a break when what would have been Iginlas second of the night was reviewed and ruled to be kicked in, keeping the game tied 3-3. Iginla admitted he wasnt all that surprised that the goal was called back. "I didnt really expect it to be a goal," said Iginla. "I knew (the puck) was coming to my foot, but I was hoping it wasnt a kicking motion. At the same time I understand the call, but youre always hoping for the best for sure." Bruins coach Claude Julien said his team played well and probably deserved a better fate. "Our guys battled hard," said Julien. "It would have been nice to come out of here with at least a point. I thought we deserved that much with how hard we competed to get ourselves back in the game, but unfortunately that wasnt the case. " Ottawa opened the scoring at the seven-minute mark of the first as Wiercioch jumped into the play to grab a rebound and beat Rask through the legs. The Bruins tied the game on Pailles fourth of the season as he sidestepped Erik Karlsson along the sideboards and beat Anderson cleanly. Conacher made it 2-1 for the Senators when he tipped a Kyle Turris backhand. The Senators made it 3-1 just 29 seconds into the second on Smiths short-handed goal. It also marked the end of Rasks night. Anderson made a number of good saves through the second, but had no chance on Iginlas 12th of the season as he was left all alone at the side of the net for an easy tap in. Warsofsky, with his first in the NHL, tied it 3-3 at the six-minute mark of the third with a shot from the side boards. Notes: C Jason Spezza and D Chris Phillips missed the game with a lower body injury. In Spezza and Phillips absence Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson wore an A. D Eric Gryba was a healthy scratch for the Senators. a The Bruins announced D Dennis Seidenberg will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. D Zdeno Chara was a late scratch and is listed as day-to-day. The Bruins were also without C Carl Soderberg. D Zach Trotman was recalled on an emergency basis and made his NHL debut. ' ' ' |
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