Indy leaders hope first Super Bowl isn’t last

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Hwa Ambuehl

The Super Bowl is still nearly a week away and city leaders already are looking ahead.

Sunday’s big game will be the first for Indy, and Mayor Greg Ballard believes there should be more.

“I do think the regular cycle of four-to-five years for some of the other cities may not be the way to go, but for a city like us with a great volunteer base and a great community support, I think every eight-to-10 years is doable,” he said. “I think we can get on a regular rotation.”

Ballard said he wouldn’t rush it.

“I was kidding when I told the host committee that I was going to give them a week to rest, then we’re going to go for it again.”

Colts owner Jim Irsay is excited about the chance to show off the city.

“I think that we’re going to be able to show the world and everyone that we’re deserving for a second chance someday down the line,” he said. “I really do. I think that’s the type of job that we’re going to do here, and the experience is going to be great.”

Though the Colts finished 2-14 this season, that hasn’t shaken Irsay’s desire to make the event special.

“This isn’t about the Colts, this is about Indianapolis, this is about Indiana,” he said.

— —

FAMILY TIES: Patriots receiver Matt Slater knows better than to take a Super Bowl trip for granted.

His father, Jackie Slater, was an offensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams who played in the Super Bowl after the 1979 season. The Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jackie Slater never went back to a Super Bowl in a Hall of Fame career that lasted until 1995.

“I think that was one of the biggest things that he kind of missed on his career is he never won a world championship,” Matt Slater said. “I knew how much that meant to him because he was a huge team guy.”

Dad already has offered son some advice about handling the pressure in the week leading up to the game.

“He told me just to do everything I can to prepare myself for the game on Sunday so that I can live with no regrets,” the fourth-year player from UCLA said. “And realizing that this opportunity is not guaranteed to me in my career again, so just to do everything I can to take advantage of the opportunity and maximize it so, at the end of the day, I have no regrets at all.”

Matt Slater wasn’t around when his father played in the Super Bowl—he was born in 1985—but Jackie’s vivid memories have connected Matt to the experience.

“Even to this day, he talks about the game, and he can almost call off every play to you and just remember the ebb and flow of the game,” Matt Slater said. “It meant a lot to him. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for him, but it’s definitely a memory he has and will have as long as he lives.”

— —

SUPER SCARVES: The Super Bowl host committee got more than expected out of a simple attempt to look out for its volunteers.

Host committee CEO Allison Melangton started the Super Scarves project two years ago to give Indiana residents a chance to make scarves that would help volunteers stay warm during a typically cold time of the year.

The project expanded, and now the committee has received blue and white scarves from 46 states and four countries. The goal was to have 8,000 scarves available, but eventually, the host committee received about 13,000.

The scarves got attention on a TV episode of ABC’s “The Middle.”

“I guess you’ve arrived when a national sitcom makes fun of something you’re doing,” Melangton said.

Each scarf identified who knitted or croqueted it and included a message of encouragement for the wearer.

“It was her idea,” Mark Miles, chairman of the host committee, said. “I thought it couldn’t have been more hair-brained, and it couldn’t have been more brilliant.”

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Giants vs. Patriots II: Does 2008 matter?

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Hwa Ambuehl

That was then. This is now.
That’s what players on the Giants and Patriots are saying about their previous Super Bowl meeting, New York’s 17-14 stunner over the then-unbeaten Patriots four years ago.
To hear them talk, it has little or no relevance to Sunday’s matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Honestly, for us, that ’07 thing was kind of like us coming together as a football team,” defensive end Justin Tuck said Monday when the NFC champions arrived in Indy. “We just said we wanted to kill a dynasty, and that’s what they were. But now, we’ve been here before and we felt as though all that is secondary. We just want to come in here and have our mind focused on playing a great football game, and not really getting caught up in all the hoopla around the game.”
Or the hoopla still attached to the 2007 NFL championship. Replays of David Tyree’s incredible ball-against-helmet catch or Plaxico Burress’ winning TD reception in the final minute seem to be shown around the clock — along with the Giants sacking Tom Brady five times.
The Giants (12-7) might need to replicate that performance to stop New England (15-3) from winning its fourth Super Bowl under Bill Belichick and Brady at quarterback.
“We had a lot of hits on him,” Tuck said. “Even when we didn’t hit him, he didn’t have the time to sit back there and allow some of the routes to develop. We know that as a D-line, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure that we are in his face. He is a hell of a quarterback, and he is going to do a lot of things to throw us off our rhythm.
“You are going to get your shots because they are an explosive offense and they like to take shots downfield, too. We are going to have our chances, and we just are going to have to do a great job of taking advantage of them.”
New England didn’t take advantage in that Super Bowl, the last time both teams got this far. Dredging up what went wrong not only is painful but, the Patriots say, it’s useless.
“Every time you get to this level, it’s a special level. You have to enjoy it,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “This is something that is going to stick with you for the rest of your life. 2007 was 2007, now we’re in 2012. Both teams are different. I don’t think we’re looking for revenge.”
Belichick is playing down that angle, too — even if some believe he’s constantly reminding his players that the Giants not only beat them in the Super Bowl four years back, but beat them at home in November.
“I’ve been asked about that game for several days now. All of the games in the past really don’t mean that much at this point,” said Belichick, 3-1 in NFL championship games. “This game is about this team this year. There aren’t really a lot of us coaches and players who were involved in that game, and very few players, in relative terms, between both teams. We are where we are now, and we’re different than where we were earlier in the season. The Giants are where they are now, and I think they’re different than where they were at different points of the season. To take it back years and years before that, I don’t think it has too much bearing on anything.”

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Habs’ Cammalleri admits lack of ice time troublesome

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Hwa Ambuehl

The passionate Montreal Canadiens fan base was on full display Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

At one end of the ice, a departed hero from the team’s miraculous 2010 run to the Eastern Conference Finals was given a standing ovation after shutting out the home team.

At the other end of the ice, another hero from that same playoff run who is still on the Canadiens was being booed in the waning moments of a 3-0 win by St. Louis.

While Jaroslav Halak most definitely played an integral part during that magical spring two years ago, Michael Cammalleri’s role should not be discounted.

Cammalleri led the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs in goals that postseason with 13 –even without the benefit of playing a fourth and final round. What’s more, after racking up 10 points in last year’s seven-game first-round loss to the Bruins, Cammalleri has an impressive 29 points in 26 playoff games with the Canadiens.

But he is in the midst of an unproductive season with nine goals and 13 assists in 37 games, one that mirrors the overall lack of offensive punch displayed by the entire Canadiens team.

Cammalleri admitted Wednesday he heard the boos when he touched the puck in the third period of the loss to the Blues, and he said the fans had every right to do it.

“You’ve got to be sensitive to the fact that Canadiens fans live and die by their team,” Cammalleri told a pack of reporters. “So if anything, you can identify with how they feel. They’re unhappy, and they let you know it. So I wasn’t disappointed; I think more so I probably expected it.”

Cammalleri was singled out for two defensive errors that cost his team in that loss, missing assignments on Jason Arnott and David Backes on plays that led to the first two goals for the Blues.

After hinting to the pack of reporters he was unhappy with his amount of playing time by saying, “I’m not playing as much, so I need to get a little work here in practice to stay in shape,” Cammalleri later continued the conversation with NHL.com and a reporter from Montreal newspaper La Presse.

“On the Arnott goal, he was my guy, I wasn’t sharp there,” Cammalleri said. “But it was my fifth shift of the game and it was the second period. Usually I’ve made 15 good plays by that point.”

Cammalleri was obviously exaggerating to prove a point because the goal came on his ninth shift of the game. But it is true his ice time has dropped significantly since Randy Cunneyworth took over as interim head coach.

Cammalleri played 15:01 on Tuesday night, marking the sixth time in 10 games under Cunneyworth that he failed to reach the 17-minute mark in ice time. It matches the number of times that happened through his 26 full games this season under previous head coach Jacques Martin (Cammalleri played 4:22 when he was injured during the game of Oct. 9).

“I’m used to playing 20 minutes a night,” he said

Cammalleri talked about the differences between a team that has a “winning mentality” and a “losing mentality” and how the former doesn’t care about its opponent because it has the confidence to beat any team. He says that’s what the Canadiens had when they eliminated the top-seeded Washington Capitals and the defending Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010, and also when they took the eventual Cup-champion Boston Bruins to overtime of a seventh game last spring.

The team without a winning mentality, however, feels it “needs to play perfect to win,” Cammalleri said.

When asked whether Cammalleri and his regular center Tomas Plekanec – both of whom were a minus-2 Tuesday – needed to regain his trust, Cunneyworth admitted that might be the case.

“To some extent, for sure,” Cunneyworth said. “Each and every night I’m counting on that, and if there’s something there I don’t like then obviously they’re going to see limited ice time. I think their ice time was pretty fair (Tuesday) night and we have to get some production from our top guys, as usual, but they’re also out there trying to take care of a solid line that they’re opposing so they have to make sure they’re good in their own end. If you’re not scoring, then you have to be preventing goals the other way.”

To make matters worse, top-six forward Brian Gionta, the team’s captain, left in the third period of Tuesday’s game with what the team called an upper-body injury; the Canadiens said Wednesday that Gionta had successful surgery to repair a tear in his right biceps and will be out indefinitely.

Tuesday was Gionta’s second game back from a groin injury that cost him 11 games, and as he went to the locker room television cameras caught him throwing his stick out of frustration.

Gionta’s absence further muddies Montreal’s forward rotation.

The Canadiens, now No. 12 in the East, need something to go their way in a hurry if they want to make a desperate push for their fifth straight postseason berth.

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Colts pass rusher Mathis asked to experience in Professional Bowl

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Hwa Ambuehl

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis received an invitation to the Pro Bowl, a league source said Tuesday.

Mathis hasn’t decided if he’ll play yet, but if he does, he would replace New England Patriots defensive end Andre Carter, who went on season-ending injured reserve last month with a quadriceps injury.

Mathis was one of the few bright spots for the Colts in 2011, finishing with 9.5 sacks, 43 tackles and three fumble recoveries. It marked the seventh time in nine seasons that Mathis has compiled at least nine sacks.

Mathis, who has played his entire career in Indianapolis, is scheduled to become a free agent in March.

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Dodgers won’t be big spenders at Meetings

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl

If you staked out Walmart for Black Friday specials, you probably didn’t follow on Saturday at Tiffany’s.

In baseball’s version of Christmas bargain hunting, Ned Colletti made a flurry of supporting cast signings in November, because that’s all his bankrupt club can afford. At next week’s Winter Meetings, he can’t play big spender chasing Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

Despite the splashy headlines for Matt Kemp’s $160 million signing, nearly all of that will be paid by the next owner. The 2012 payroll for this team up for sale could be slashed as much as $20 million from last year’s $110 million. Colletti said recently there are no current plans to give contract extensions to Clayton Kershaw or Andre Ethier.

So Colletti will try to land a rotation replacement for Hiroki Kuroda — like Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano or Jeff Francis — and a versatile bench player like Jerry Hairston Jr. for less than the $12 million he paid Kuroda alone in 2011.

Already, Colletti has re-signed Juan Rivera for one year plus an option at $4 million to be the starting left fielder; signed Mark Ellis for two years plus an option at $8.75 million to be the starting second baseman; and signed Matt Treanor for one year plus an option at $1 million to back up starting catcher A.J. Ellis.

Colletti needs to have spent wisely, because while the D-backs went from worst to first in 2011, the Dodgers barely cleared .500. They have finished fourth and third in the past two years, and the last time they went three years without finishing first or second was 1967-69.

Regardless of what happens in the courts, the Dodgers face a challenge on the field. Even with Cy Young Award-winning Kershaw and MVP runner-up Kemp, there are questions that probably can’t be answered with four days in a Texas hotel.

The Dodgers have already committed roughly $50 million for eight signed players — Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Juan Uribe, Matt Guerrier, Rivera, Ellis, Treanor and Kemp. They have another $30 million budgeted for six remaining arbitration-eligible players — Kershaw, Ethier, James Loney, Hong-Chih Kuo, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Dana Eveland, with Kuo and Eveland potential non-tenders.

Assuming the Dodgers have a $90 million payroll, that leaves about $10 million for a starting pitcher, an extra infielder and a handful of minimum-wage youngsters. There might not even be room to bring back a workhorse reliever like Mike MacDougal. And that doesn’t count the $10 million owed next year in deferrals to Manny Ramirez and Andruw Jones.

Colletti could fill a hole by trading Ethier or Loney — who are one year away from free agency — but not without their departure creating a new hole on the Major League roster.

He could dip into the Minor League system and deal away some pitching depth, but that pretty much defeats the purpose of Minor League pitching depth for a club that struggles for traction in its mission to build from within.

To this point, the starting rotation is topped by Kershaw, Billingsley and Lilly, with Nathan Eovaldi an early favorite to be the fifth starter and Kuroda’s slot open. The bullpen has young closer Javy Guerra, strikeout machine Kenley Jansen, workhorse Matt Guerrier, situational lefty Scott Elbert, Blake Hawksworth, Josh Lindblom and Kuo a possibility.

The starting infield will be Loney at first, Ellis at second, Dee Gordon at short, Juan Uribe at third, Justin Sellers and Russell Mitchell backing up. The outfield is Rivera in left, Kemp in center, Ethier in right, with Tony Gwynn and Jerry Sands backing up. Ellis and Treanor are the catchers.

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Nabokov plans to attend Isles camp: report

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl

Suspended goalie Evgeni Nabokov said he will go to training camp with the New York Islanders, Newsday reported on its website on Monday night.

“Yes, I do plan on attending,” Nabokov said Monday. “Now I will have full preparation for the season.”

Nabokov did not report to the Islanders in January after he was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings by New York, which suspended the veteran goalie.

Nabokov, who played with the San Jose Sharks for parts of 10 seasons, had spent last season with SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian KHL.

He signed a one-year contract with Detroit, but had to clear waivers.

The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement states that anyone who plays in a professional league before signing an NHL contract must clear waivers.

Once he signed his one-year deal with the Red Wings, he became available to the Islanders.http://www.balklanningaronline.com

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Live NBA blog: Celtics crushing Knicks; Rondo has triple double

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl

9:34: Stat update. Rondo has 20 assists, which ESPN says is a Celtics record in the playoffs. Pierce is at 38 points, on 14-for-19 shooting. Allen at 32, on 11-for-18. ‘Melo hurting, 4-for-16 from the floor.

9:29: Eighth three-pointer for Ray Allen. Might have been a good idea to guard him. Boston has 13 threes, and is 13-for-20 from out there. 106-84 Boston, with 5 minutes and change left.

9:27: How out of control has this game become? The ESPN crew is killing time by talking about whether Jason Kidd is the NBA player who improved his shot the most over the course of his career. And now they’re on to anecdotes about Mark Jackson’s career at St. John’s. Zzzzzzz.

9:25: The question that will be asked often after this one: How could the Knicks play so hard and show so much grit up in Boston, and then totally collapse with all the energy working for them at Madison Square Garden. Boston 94, New York 74, 6:44 remaining.

9:23: Atlanta is handling Orlando, BTW, 51-42.

9:19: Knicks’ mini-rally thwarted by a three that gets Paul Pierce to 30 points. Boston up by 19 as New York calls time.

9:17: How good is David Stern at moving his cheap jerseys from china lips while saying nothing? Shed absolutely no light on the NBA’s attempts to avoid an NFL-like lockout. Will give him credit for maintaining a friendly attitude toward the union, however. Unlike the way the NFL owners beat the war drums early on.

9:15: Carmelo stuck at 15 points for awhile now. Only other Knick in double figures is Shawne Williams, with 10.

9:12: Slice of history from ESPN. Until Rajon Rondo’s performance tonight, the last triple-double against the Knicks in a playoff game was by Mark Jackson, in 1998, with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.

9:07: Rondo has his triple double as the third quarter, mercifully, comes to an end. Boston up 86-63 after winning the quarter 34-19. Rondo has 11 points, a whopping 15 assists and 10 boards.

9:04: Make it 7 three-pointers for Ray Allen, and an 82-59 Boston lead. Time to wonder if New York will even show up in Game 4?

9:00: Atlanta is leading Orlando 36-32 with about 6 minutes left in the first half, BTW.

8:57: Turn out the lights. Celtics have ruled the third quarter by a count of 25-12. Timeout with Boston leading by 21.

8:55: And New York’s contention that Madison Square Garden is the NBA’s loudest arena is taking a serious hit right now.

8:54: Boston’s 77-56 lead is the largest of the night. Pierce is at 25 points. Time for the Knicks to start launching.

8:51: We’re probably looking at a triple-double for Rondo tonight. He has 7 points, 9 rebounds and 13 assists with a little over 5 minutes left in the third quarter.

8:48: Stoudemire finally gets his second bucket of the game, but Celts are up 15 as Rondo answers with a long jumper.

8:47: Here’s a stat from Sean Grande that should worry New York if they can’t stop this run that has Boston up by 13. In the Big 3 Era the Celtics have had 130 leads of 16 or more points. And they are 127-3 when they get ahead by that much. Celtics already were up briefly by 17 very early, and New York battled back.

8:43: Mike D’Antoni has to take a timeout with his team coming out flat and now trailing by 16.

8:41: Pierce hits his three. Celtics keep the margin at 11. Halftime report on Stoudemire’s back is that he tells ESPN it’s “pretty stiff.” Which is how it looks. Pierce at 23 points now.

8: 38: Second half starts and it takes about 10 seconds for Ray Allen to drill his fifth three-pointer. Boston lead back to 11.

8:29: Team stats. Boston is killing on the boards, by a 22-13 margin. Both teams have been sloppy. Celts have 14 turnovers, Knicks 13. Both are nailing the threes, with Knicks 4-for-7 and Celts 5-for-9. Knicks are 8-for-10 on free throws, Boston is 13-for-15. And it’s near dead-even on shooting, with Knicks at 43.2% and Boston checking in at 42.5%.

8:26: Stats for the Celtics: Ray Allen is leading the way, 4-for-6 on threes, 16 points. Pierce got 14 points very quickly and finished with 17 at the half on 6-for-9 shooting. Garnett has only 5 points, but 7 rebounds. Rondo is shooting just 1-for-5, but has handed out 8 assists and pulled down a big 6 rebounds.

8:24: Stats for the Knicks: Carmelo is 4-for-12 for 12 points with 5 rebounds, but four turnovers. Stoudemire is clearly still ailing, shooting 1-for-5 for three points and just one rebound.

8:18: Knicks do a good job of keeping Boston from getting a last shot. They had a foul to give and took it at the right time. Pierce couldn’t get off a last try. Halftime, and Celtics lead 52-44. They have led all the way. Back with some stats in a sec.

8:15: Another three for Ray Allen, but Walker answers with a trey for the Knicks. Game is getting a little more wide-open now. Timeout.

8:12: Pierce hits the free throw but is headed to the bench after committing his third foul. Carmelo hits both free throws to get to 12 points. Stoudemire has 3. Celts up by 8.

8:07: Jermaine O’Neal hits the open jumper. Pierce gets the breakaway lay-in and the foul. Pierce will have a free throw coming after the timeout. Boston up 46-37.

8:05: 4:35 left in the second quarter, and Stoudemire finally gets his first rebound. He’s hanging in like the All-Star he is, but obviously his sore back is holding him back.

8:03: Here’s The Onion having some fun with a Shaq photo.

8:00: Celtics back up by 10 on a Ray Allen three. He’s 10-for-12 from out there for the series, and he’s forced a Knicks timeout. Stoudemire has been a non-factor so far, don’t you think?

7:59: Sloppy game, or is it just really physical. Knicks have 10 turnovers, Boston 8.

7:57: Starters back in. Ray Allen buries the long jumper, gets the foul and hits the free throw. 10 points for Allen now, and Celtics stretch their lead to 37-29.

7:51: Timeout with 8:01 left in the second. Knicks cut it to 34-29 against Boston’s reserves.

bench not off to a good start. Gets a shot-clock violation, and Big Baby has to force up a bomb.

7:46: Doc Rivers took a shot at his bench during the break, telling ESPN they “haven’t done anything for us” during the series so far. That unit is on the floor now, with Ray Allen the only starter still out there.

7:41: West misses the buzzer-beater for Boston. Knicks rallied nicely after an awful start to stay within seven at the break.

7:39: Now Pierce has two fouls for Boston, just like Garnett. 12.8 seconds left in the first. Boston lead down to 27-20.

7:35: Shawne Williams nails a three. Knicks on an 11-1 run to cut it to 23-16.

7:31: Timeout with 2:39 left and Celts leading 22-11. Knicks finding some rhythm, with scores the last three times down.

7:28: Carmelo buries a long jumper but it’s still 22-9 Boston. Garnett just picked up his second foul, though. Knicks are 4-14 from the floor, with five turnovers.

7:27: Two more scoreless trips for the Knicks. Stoudemire is 0-3 from the floor, with one air ball. Celts up 20-5 with 4:11 left in the first.

7:23: More chippiness. Carmelo and Garnett have a little shove fest. Any predictions on who will brawl seriously first? (Timeout.)

7:21: Now Stoudemire and Garnett are jawing some after contact on an inbounds pass. Pretty chippy pretty early, but that helps keep the crowd in it with Boston off to a 15-5 start.

7:19: 4:30 in, and Turiaf gets his second foul, on a blatant takedown of Jermaine O’Neal. Shaq, BTW, is not in uniform, as was expected.

7:17: Fields gets the Knicks on the board with a jumper. Took almost 3 1/2 minutes for New York to get its first score. 9-2, Celts.

7:16: Paul Pierce jaws at Stoudemire a little after taking a hard foul in the paint. Pierce hits both free throws and the Celtics are off to a 9-0 start.

7:14: Rajon Rondo hits an open jumper for a 4-0 Boston lead while the Knicks have missed their first four attempts. Boston has won 18 of the last 20 meetings between these two teams. Think that trend holds tonight?

7:10: Chauncey Billups is in street clothes and won’t play tonight in the Knicks’ first home payoff game in seven years. But Amar’e Stoudemire is in the lineup, and the tipoff has us under way.

7:05: Waiting on tipoff. From the ESPN studio crew, both Jalen Rose and Chris Mullin are picking the Knicks to win because of the Madison Square Garden factor. Says Mullin: “I can feel the energy from here.

Here’s a question, about how Carmelo Anthony will follow up on his 42-point effort from Game 2:

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Former champ Lincicome shares lead at Nabisco

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl

Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis battled triple-digit temperatures and shot matching six-under 66s to share the lead after one round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major of 2011.

Lincicome, the 2009 champion of this event, had six birdies in a flawless round at Mission Hills Country Club’s Dinah Shore Tournament Course. She has yet to win a tournament since jumping in Poppie’s Pond two years ago, and it’s her third career first-round lead — all in major tournaments.

Lincicome attributed today’s play to her improved composure.

“Just the way I think on the golf course and not getting down on myself when I have a bad hole,” Lincicome noted. “Obviously today, I made everything I looked at.”

Lewis, meanwhile, posted seven birdies and a bogey in the scorching heat and is in search of her first tournament victory on tour, let alone her first major. It’s only the second time she’s ever held the lead after any round of play, and the other came after the third round of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open.

Lewis is hoping for a different result this time around, as she closed that tournament with a 78 to finish five strokes behind the winner.

“I think (I have) to stay patient,” Lewis said of how she will correct her previous mistake. “I got really out of what I had done for three days in that final day. I have to stick to my game, and it’s a long week.

“I’m trusting my abilities more, and I’m more comfortable.”

Both of these players seem to play their best when it counts the most, but they’ll have to hold off some red-hot golfers if they want to capture the title.

Last week’s Kia Classic winner Sandra Gal was the early clubhouse leader at five-under-par 67 and shares third with Mika Miyazato. Gal, who narrowly beat out Jiyai Shin on the final hole last weekend to capture her first tournament victory, continued her momentum on Thursday with seven birdies and two bogeys.

Karrie Webb, attempting to become the fourth three-time winner of this event, is tied for seventh at minus-three. The defending champion and top player in the world, Yani Tseng, who has won four times in 2011, is just behind Webb in a share of 10th at two-under.

In a tournament that has been won by nine non-Americans the last 11 years, it was two homegrown players who played best on Thursday.

The two leaders were only two groups apart in the afternoon, with Lewis teeing off on the 10th 16 minutes before Lincicome. Lewis’ one hiccup came early amidst a string of four birdies in five holes from the 11th to the 15th when she bogeyed the 12th. She parred four straight around the turn and sat at three-under before a late run.

Another birdie at No. 2 had her one shot behind Gal, and she caught the German with a six-foot birdie putt at the fifth. Melissa Reid had taken the lead at that point before stumbling late, but Lewis took sole possession of first with her final birdie at the sixth hole.

Lincicome went in short spurts, but never faltered. After an opening par, she got into red figures with back-to-back birdies at the 11th and 12th. Just before the turn, she had consecutive birdies again with a 10-footer at No. 17 and a five-footer that went right-to-left at No. 18 to make the turn at four- under.

“It got pretty hot out there,” Lincicome said. “They told the caddies they could take their bibs off. Greens are super-firm out there. I’m hoping they water them tonight. Just a lot of wear and tear from this warm weather.”

Following three pars to open her final nine, a birdie at the fourth had her tied with the leaders at minus-five. She finished her brilliant round with a five-foot birdie putt at the seventh to join Lewis atop the leaderboard.

Gal had some spectacular shots to take the early lead, including a chip-in at No. 4 for birdie and a tee shot at the par-three eighth to six inches from the cup.

“I can’t recall anything I did specifically (Thursday),” Gal said. “I’m just trying to hit them solid. I think I play best when I’m happy. A lot of smiles out there, keep myself loose. I can compete with the best, and last week has proven (that).”

Some of the big names struggled on Thursday, including world No. 2 Shin, No. 3 Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie. Shin, who missed a three-foot putt that would have forced a playoff last week, finished tied for 41st at one-over 73, while Kerr was near the bottom of the leaderboard after a six-over 78. Wie stood in a share of 54th at plus-two.

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Wind propels Spencer Levin to 3-shot lead at Bay Hill

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl
If Spencer Levin could somehow order up enough wind-whipped days on the PGA Tour schedule, he might make some major hay on the money list. As it is, he’s finding his place rather nicely.
Facing the same 32 mph gusts that kept all but two of the Arnold Palmer Invitational’s other 119 players from even breaking 70, Levin crafted a 6-under-par 66 Thursday that propelled him three shots clear of his nearest pursuers.
“Six-under — I didn’t even think about that on the range,” the California native said. “I know the course is hard, anyway — and then you throw a 20- or 30-mile-an-hour wind and it becomes even more tough.
“Maybe anything just under par would be a good score in the afternoon, for sure.”
Instead, Levin’s bogey-free performance goes down as one of the best rounds of the budding 2011 season, alongside Rory Sabbatini’s course record-tying 64 in similar blustery conditions at the Honda Classic.
“Nobody went low except for Spencer,” said Tiger Woods, a quick seven shots off the pace after his opening 73.
How tough were conditions at Bay Hill Club & Lodge? Consider that Thursday’s scoring average of 74.73 was highest of the season and highest at Bay Hill since the squally 1983 edition.
Thursday also produced 13 scores in the 80s — again, the most in a Bay Hill round since 1983 and more than the combined total of the entire 1995-97 tournaments. U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell shot 80, as did U.S. Ryder Cupper Jeff Overton and Bob Hope champion Jhonny Vegas.
The only other entrants able to break 70 were Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan, whose best efforts turned in 3-under 69s. Fowler actually got to 5-under in calmer morning conditions, but a bogey/bogey finish dropped him back.
“There were some really tough pins out there that you had to fire away from,” said Fowler. “I felt like I did pretty well with that.”
Then Levin came along and blew all other endeavors away.
It wasn’t all that statistically impressive — Levin hit only six fairways and 12 greens in regulation. But his short game was sublime — featuring a chip-in for birdie at No. 2 and just 25 putts.
“That’s probably the lowest [putt count] I’ve had in my career,” he said.
Making the performance even more impressive, Thursday was Levin’s first competitive round at Arnie’s Place.
Then again, Levin seems to rise up in the wind. Just three weeks earlier, he was the first-round leader at Honda, where even stronger breezes created a somewhat stiffer challenge.
Give credit to the two years he spent at the University of New Mexico, where those winds blowing over the high sierra taught him how to control his ball flight. “That definitely helped me,” he said.
Woods’ reconstructed swing, meanwhile, has been vulnerable in windy conditions — and Thursday was no different. He missed the first nine fairways he encountered, leaving his iron game to keep things from snowballing.
“I’m still right there in the ballgame,” the six-time Bay Hill champion said. “Most of the good scores were in the morning, so hopefully we can do it [in Round 2].”
Woods wound up with the best score of his high-profile pairing. Dustin Johnson, runner-up two weeks ago at Doral, carded a 77. So did Orlando’s Gary Woodland, who notched his first PGA Tour win last week outside Tampa.
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Goodell e-mails NFL players with game ‘further at risk’

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Hwa Ambuehl

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a letter to all active players, outlining the league’s last proposal to the union during labor negotiations.

In Thursday’s e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Goodell tells players that “each passing day puts our game and our shared economics further at risk.”

Goodell writes that the NFL Players Association“walked out of the federal mediator’s offices … and filed a lawsuit.” He says owners “are prepared to resume those negotiations at any time.”

Talks between the sides broke off last Friday. The union dissolved, allowing players to file suit in federal court. Hours later, owners locked out the players, creating the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987.

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