Gästebuch » ted in the Eastern Conference standings.

1. Soft openingGolf in general and the PGA Tour in particular has never really been into the idea of celebrating Opening Day. Unlike MLB and the NFL, leagues who circle the date on the calendar, a new golf season isnt really much to rejoice about.Aside from those players who are exempt and missed the FedEx Cup playoffs or maybe bowed out early, and those who just last week earned their PGA Tour cards, the start to the 2016-17 season at this weeks Safeway Open in Napa, California, is more continuation of a long golf year than it is a start of a new one.Just 18 days before the first tee shots are hit at Silverado Resort, Rory McIlroy was hoisting the FedEx Cup trophy following his Tour Championship victory at East Lake. Were still trying to decompress from the highly-charged Ryder Cup -- with Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar the only Ryder Cuppers competing this week in California.And so the PGA Tours fourth version of a wrap-around schedule is set to begin, the first of seven tournaments played during the coming six weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. The official season then resumes at the Tournament of Champions on Jan. 5.2. Of course, Tiger ...Had Tiger Woods played the Safeway Open as originally hoped and planned, the season-opening event would have taken on an entirely different vibe. Woods return to competitive golf after a now 14-months-and-counting hiatus was a story that went well beyond the sleepy opening to a golf season. Based on ticket sales and media interest, the tournament would have rivaled any of the biggest events of the coming season.Understandably, there have been some disappointed people in Napa, many of whom bought tickets with the express intention of coming to see Woods. And many were dismayed to learn there are no refunds.That is standard operating procedure at a PGA Tour event. Tickets are non-refundable, and a good lesson in reading the fine print.As it pertains to Woods hope to participate announcement on Sept. 7, the Safeway Open promoted that on its website and didnt go out of its way to explain that the 14-time major had not officially committed to the tournament. For those who think the tournament is losing out on Woods withdrawal, it managed to sell a good number of tickets based on his hopeful participation.3. When commitment is a bad wordIn order to play in a PGA Tour event, a player must commit to it by the Friday prior to tournament week. The terminology should really be enter because there is nothing at all that commits you to playing. It is a procedural move that is required. To play, you must commit -- but its not binding. Many players will commit to every tournament they think they will play early in the season, so as not to forget to do so. They then withdraw if their schedule changes or if they change their mind.In Woods case, a commitment has been a huge deal to any tournament for the duration of his 20-year career and his reluctance to commit early stems from something that occurred early on.When Woods turned pro in August of 1996, he had no status on the PGA Tour. As a non-member, he was allowed to take up to seven sponsor exemptions, and tournaments lined up to extend them. Before winning in Las Vegas, Woods goal was to earn enough money to finish among the top 125 on the money list, thereby foregoing the qualifying tournament.He had scheduled eight straight weeks of tournaments (he could forego a sponsor exemption if he finished top 10) and played Greater Milwaukee (T-60), Canadian Open (11th), Quad City Classic (T-5) and the B.C. Open (T-3). The next week, he was scheduled to play the Buick Challenge, and was actually on site when he became ill and withdrew, also skipping a dinner where he was to be honored as the college player of the year.Woods was heavily criticized -- even Arnold Palmer took issue with it at the time, saying he should have played. The lesson is you dont make commitments you cant fulfill, unless youre on your deathbed, and I dont believe he was on his deathbed.The following week, Woods won the first of his 79 PGA Tour titles at the Las Vegas Invitational and adopted a longstanding policy of not committing to events early so as not to disappoint in case he changed his mind.But Palmers comments notwithstanding, in order to play that tournament, Woods had to enter -- which is far from the commitment it is made out to be.4. About that Tiger-Phil pairingTheres been a good bit of speculation about Woods being grouped this week with Phil Mickelson at the Safeway Open and how that might have been one of the reasons he decided against playing.Its safe to say that it had nothing to do with it. The PGA Tour several weeks ago made overtures to both parties to see if they would be opposed to the idea. Mickelson had said on Sept. 7 when Woods first announced his intentions to possibly play that hed love to be grouped with Tiger at the Safeway. Woods agent, Mark Steinberg, was also approached.Aside from major championships and World Golf Championship tournaments where they might have been grouped together in the first two rounds, Woods and Mickelson had not played together on the opening days of a PGA Tour event since the 1998 Nissan Open. They have routinely been put on opposite sides of the pairings draw in order to have marquee players in the TV window for Rounds 1 and 2.Although the tour does not necessarily always ask participants if they are okay with a marquee grouping as is often orchestrated, in this case it happened. And Woods could have declined.5. What will Phil do next?For the first time since the start of the wraparound schedule, Phil Mickelson is playing a fall event -- aside from the World Golf Championship tournament in China he has played on several occasions. He announced months ago he would be playing the Safeway Open, which marks the start of his 26th PGA Tour season.Mickelson, 46, has played 548 events to date, with 42 victories, 34 runner-up finishes and 182 top-10s.6. In his own wordsWhen Tiger Woods did officially withdraw from the Safeway Open, he posted his statement at his website and also via his Twitter account.7. And at least one person was happy Tiger didnt showThat would be Max Homa, who got into the field when Woods withdrew. 8. Schedule crunchAn unfortunate -- but avoidable -- situation occurred last week when the PGA Tour had to cancel the Web.com Tour Championship due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew. Canceling the event due to the impending storm was the only option aside from trying to move it, although that likely presented numerous logistical concerns.The fallout, however, was severe for those players who were counting on the event to try to secure their PGA Tour card for the season that begins this week. And therein lies the problem.With the wraparound schedule as it is, determining playing status for the first event of the new season has to be completed. Hence, the Web.com Tour Championship could not be moved to this week.But there was an off week prior -- ostensibly to not go up against the Ryder Cup -- and that proved to be the problem, offering no room for error.9. Confidence boostAustralian Steven Bowditch has been in a slump that saw him miss 15 cuts this year, including his past six in a row. But the two-time PGA Tour winner has had a great sense of humor about it, this time offering a shout out to Tiger Woods for a practice round. Wholesale Air Max 270 . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. Balenciaga Outlet Store . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/cheap-air-force-1-fake.html . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Discount Shoes Online Australia . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Custom Air Force 1 Australia . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. The Chicago Fire are playing out the string on a disappointing season, while Saturdays opponent, the Montreal Impact, have everything on the line in the final 10 games of the regular season.The Fire head to Montreal for a Saturday night showdown with the playoff-minded Impact at Stade Saputo. Chicago is looking for its first road win of the season.Its been an up-and-down month for the Impact, who are coming off a 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls in their last match. Still, Montreal sits in fifth place, with a comfortable six-point lead over sixth-place D.C. United in the Eastern Conference standings. The Impact have bigger plans, though, and have a good opportunity to move up the table with a win Saturday in front of their home fans.Montreal is 6-2-3 at Stade Staputo this season, and it is rich with playmakers.Ignacio Piatti and Didier Drogba are having big seasons. Piatti is fourth in MLS with 13 goals, and Drogba has found the net eight times, including a recent hat trick. He has five goals in three appearances against Chhicago.dddddddddddd Newcomer Matteo Mancuso also has been hot, recording either a goal or an assist in four straight games.Montreals trio of weapons will be a good test for Chicago rookie centerback Jonathan Campbell, who has been a bright spot during a tough season for the Fire.The Fire (4-11-7) have the fewest points in MLS with 19. They are searching for anything to build off in the final 10-game stretch that begins at Stade Saputo. Chicago and Columbus are the only two teams in the Eastern Conference that have yet to post a win on the road.The Fire are winless in their last four matches, but did get an equalizer from Razvan Cocis in the 78th minute to secure a draw against Orlando City SC last week.Montreal won at Chicago 2-1 in mid-April, with Piatti and Drogba scoring for the Impact. Piatti had the game-winner one minute into second-half stoppage time. Kennedy Igboananike scored for Chicago. ' ' '