GULLANE, Scotland - There was a point during Thursdays opening round when Graham
DeLaet, having just three-putted the 15th hole, sat dejectedly on the edge of
his golf bag.
Brendan Shanahan Red Wings Jersey . His eyes
were targeted at the green where partners Jonas Blixt and Brian Davis were
finishing up but you just knew his mind was elsewhere, likely trying to
understand what was happening to him in his first round in a major championship.
As he stood up, he gave the bag a swift boot, the only time he showed any
frustration. Anyone who saw it would have wondered what took him so long. DeLaet
came into his first major full of hope and good swings, but the treacherous
Muirfield set up was full measure this day, almost to the point of being unfair.
Off the tee, he wasnt bad at hitting the rock-hard fairways. There were a few
loose iron shots too, but nothing too out of the ordinary (with the exception of
the Hosel Rocket on the 10th). But on the slick greens it was another story. "I
struggled with my speed all day," said DeLaet, still smiling despite the
adventurous round of 76. "I felt like I didnt really have any birdie chances all
day. I finally got one on eight and I ran it six feet past the hole and made
bogey. Same thing on 14. Disappointing for sure." DeLaet, like so many other
players in the field, left the course after the opening day of the Open
Championship scratching his head about the greens. Player after player talked
about the quickness of the putting surfaces, which turned from green to brown as
the day went on. They also talked about suspect pin placements, some in stronger
tones than others. No matter how softly putts were struck, they rolled out as if
on ice. Lag putting may have been the most difficult shot of this day. DeLaet,
who was cheered on by a good throng of Canadians, a few in Roughrider jerseys,
started his day by listening to legendary first tee starter Ivor Robson announce
his name and then striping his shot down the middle. He said there were no
nerves or extra pressure on him in his first major and he appeared loose and at
ease as he walked down the fairway. "I felt good," he said. "I was comfortable
all day." As the day wore on, however, the frustrations of small misses that
turned into tough shots grew with most of those happening on the greens. "I just
wasnt hitting the shots that I needed to and the putting wasnt sharp even though
I holed a few. It just felt like I had six, seven, eight feet for par on every
hole. "I had a tap in for par on 17 and as I was tapping it in I was like I cant
remember the last time I had a tap-in par." One of the strangest holes came on
the 10th. After driving into a fairway bunker and landing in a deep rake furrow,
he blasted out. But on his next shot he did the unmentionable. "I hoseled my
third shot – I hit it straight off the hosel," he admitted, with an
after-the-fact laugh. The ball squirted off to the right and ended up in some
deep hay almost behind a scoreboard. A few years ago, a hole such as that or
perhaps one of the three putts might have pushed DeLaet to frustration but on
this day his maturity took over. "A couple of times I really wanted to hit
driver on holes where I shouldnt have because I was frustrated so Im happy with
that, but Ive got some work to do [on Friday]." Yes, he does, but at five over,
DeLaet is easily within reach of extending his stay at Muirfield into the
weekend. It will take improved putting and overall tightening of his shotmaking,
but he seems to have the skills and the desire to make it happen.
Bob Probert Red Wings Jersey . Takahashi, who
had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the
free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda.
Brendan Shanahan Red Wings Jersey . To the
surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan
State Spartans.
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.J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again.CHICAGO --
Brandon Phillips and Homer Bailey were all the Cincinnati Reds needed to recover
from a tough weekend. Phillips hit a grand slam and matched his career high with
six RBIs and Bailey pitched eight strong innings, and the Reds extended their
dominance over the Chicago Cubs with a 6-2 win Monday night in foggy conditions
at Wrigley Field. Across town, the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were
delayed over an hour because of dense fog but the Cubs and Reds were never
halted. The Reds were in a hurry to rebound from a weekend series loss to NL
Central-leading St. Louis. The Cardinals had lost four of five overall. "We were
embarrassed over the weekend, personally and as an organization and as a team,"
manager Dusty Baker said. "Well get them again many, many times." The Reds dont
play St. Louis again until Aug. 2-4, and before then will have to be content
with beating the Cubs, something they do regularly. Cincinnati has won 10
straight at Wrigley Field, eight of 10 over the overall this season, and 17 of
the teams last 20 matchups. On Monday, all the Reds runs were driven in by
Phillips, who had an RBI single in the first, connected off Scott Feldman (5-5)
in the third and an RBI groundout in the eighth for his fourth-career game of
six RBIs. Phillips had been 2 for his last 12 but hit his 152nd home run as a
Reds second baseman, tying Joe Morgan for the most by a second baseman in team
history. His six RBIs gave him 615, surpassing Morgans 612 for the most as a
Cincinnati second baseman. "It just means Ive been over here too long to do that
because Joe Morgan is the best second baseman to play this game," Phillips said.
"For me to be in the same category as him, its an honour." Bailey (4-4) didnt
make any history, but he gave Cincinnati exactly what it needed and picked up
his first win since May 25 against the Cubs. He gave up one unearned run and
four hits while striking out eight to improve to 7-2 against Chicago, which fell
to 7-19 in the NL Central. Bailey threw 120 pitches, his second most of the
season and third 100-plus pitch start of the season, sparing a bullpen that
worked four innings in Sundays 11-4, 10-inning loss to the Cardinals. Going deep
into the game and trying to save the bullpen wasnt on Baileys mind, however. "If
you do that youre not going to make it out of the fourth," Bailey said. "I just
wanted to be aggressive and try to be very efficient.&qquot; Feldmans night
wasnt as good.
Alex Delvecchio Red Wings Jersey. He pitched
six innings and allowed five runs and seven hits to lose his first decision
since May 24 at Cincinnati, the other time hes allowed five earned runs this
season. Unfortunately for Feldman, the Reds did not have trouble in the fog. The
Cubs lost for the sixth time in eight games since a five-game winning streak. "I
was hoping it would make it harder for them to pick up the ball," Feldman said.
"Apparently it didnt work." Baker said he lost track of Luis Valbuenas fly ball
to left during the bottom of the first that was caught by Xavier Paul, and he
and Cubs manager Dale Sveum had doubts whether the game would continue.
"Obviously it couldnt get any worse otherwise youd have to stop it," Sveum said
"It was borderline as it was." There was no doubt about how much Cincinnati
needed to win Monday after a tough weekend against a team Phillips called the
best in baseball. "For us to come out and play the way we did today, its
awesome," Phillips said. "We bounced back from a loss, a tough loss we had at
home. We just came here and got key hits in key situations, and got a win.
NOTES: The Reds announced before Mondays game they will call up LHP
Tony Cingrani to start Tuesday. Cingrani (2-0, 3.27) will start in place of
Johnny Cueto, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list June 5, retroactive to
June 1, with a strained right shoulder. Cingrani will face Matt Garza (1-0,
4.03). ... The Reds announced they have signed first-round pick Phillip Ervin,
an outfielder taken with the 27th overall selection, from Samford University. .
Shin-Soo Choo was hit to lead off the game, his NL-leading 18th time getting hit
by a pitch. ... Starlin Castro went 1 for 4 and is 4 for his last 42. ... Cubs
RHP Shawn Camp, on the DL since May 22 with a sprained right big toe, will pitch
for Class-A Kane County on Tuesday and again Friday before being evaluated. RHP
Kyuji Fujikawa is in Birmingham, Ala., and is expected to have Tommy John
surgery Tuesday. . Baker said "as far as Im its concerned its over" and Sveum
said theres "nothing to that situation" when asked about the teams May 26 game
in Cincinnati. Cueto threw a pitch over the head of David DeJesus, leading to
Garza calling Cueto "immature" and Baker saying the two pitchers should "box and
let it be over with."
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