Pirate Galaxy » ship winner will be someone who has

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The last guy who won the Olympic gold medal in sailings Finn class was knighted by Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace a few months after the London Olympics.So imagine the pressure on Britains Giles Scott, who at 29 is making his Olympic debut and following in the enormous wake of Ben Ainslie.And if being the overwhelming favorite wasnt heavy enough, crazily shifting and then dying wind coming off hulking Sugarloaf Mountain caused mayhem in the opening Finn race of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday. Scott finished 17th, which, coupled with his third place in the second race, has him sitting 10th overall.Its certainly not the way you want to start an Olympic Games, with a 17th, Scott said after coming ashore. Lets just say I wasnt particularly happy. Unfortunately these things happen in regattas and it certainly happened to me in regattas over the past four years. It certainly doesnt make things easy but theres still a lot to play for.Denmarks Jonas Hogh-Christensen, who took the silver behind Ainslie in 2012, called the first race a mockery of sport because of the big wind shift.The second race, he said, was a proper race. The first one was a bit idiotic, to be honest. They could have canned it and restarted it but I think we were under the scrutiny of being on TV.Still, the Dane is in better shape than Scott, sitting sixth overall after finishes of 13th and second. The leader is Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia, who finished third and first.Hogh-Christensen led the whole way in 2012 until Ainslie finished ahead of him in the medals race to take the gold. It was Ainslies fourth straight gold medal and fifth medal overall, making him the most successful Olympic sailor ever.Ainslie then moved on to the Americas Cup. He helped Oracle Team USA rally to retain the Auld Mug in 2013 in one of the biggest comebacks in sports, and then started a British syndicate. Scott is a member of that team, Land Rover BAR, which hopes to win back the silver trophy that was plucked away from a British fleet by the schooner America in 1851.First, though, Scott has to figure out how to prevail on Guanabara Bay.It was tricky, Scott said. The Sugarloaf course we were on today is notoriously difficult. The breeze comes straight down over the Sugarloaf hill there and it just provides really tricky, unpredictable winds and I think the vast majority of sailors had a good and a bad, apart from the Slovenian who did very well.Scott said he came off the starting line better in the second race than he did in the first.It was still an incredibly hard race to get through, he said. It was incredibly tight, tight, tough racing.Is he up for the challenge of sailing his way up the standings?Id better be, hadnt I? he said.How did the first race go for Hogh-Christensen?I thought I was controlling the race pretty well, he said. Then it shifted probably 30 degrees up the first beat. But I still managed to get up there, almost in first but rounded in third. Then it shifted another 35 degrees, the wind died, filled in 35 degrees from the right, lost a lot of boats in that and didnt really manage to get it right for the rest of the race and ended up 13th. There were a lot of good guys who sort of just kept going further and further back.That course will be used for the medals race on Aug. 16.In the womens Laser Radial, defending gold medalist Lijia Xu of China had a remarkable comeback, finishing third and first to jump back into first place. She had the lead after the first two races Monday, but was disqualified from the second race after a protest hearing, dropping her to 38th.In the mens Laser, Robert Scheidt of Brazil had a 27th and fourth and dropped to eighth overall. Hes trying to become the first sailor and first Brazilian to win six Olympic medals.Both windsurfer classes tightened up. Britains Nick Dempsey went 1-4-14 to keep the lead, but its by only one point over defending gold medalist Dorian van Rijsselberghe of the Netherlands, who went 4-1-1. In womens windsurfing, Flavia Tartaglini of Italy went 1-1-4 to take the lead from Frances Charline Picon (4-5-10).---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson Swell Bottle Norge . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Swell Flaske Salg . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/swell-flaske-marmor.html .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Swell Flaske Liberty . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Swell Flaske Tilbud . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. ATLANTA -- On Sunday night, during halftime of the nationally televised Chicago Bears-Dallas Cowboys game, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will look into a camera lens and reveal the identity of his 12th and final team member.Its all a big mystery. Many believe its just a formality until Bubba Watsons name is announced. Others think it will be Jim Furyk, who hasnt played in a few weeks. There are even some who inexplicably insist it will be Tiger Woods, who hasnt played in over a year.But it shouldnt be any of them.Love should pound his fist on a podium and scream in his best Mike Singletary impersonation: I want winners!Thats right. The captain should make his intention crystal clear to each of the dozen American players at the Tour Championship who arent already on the roster:Win and youre in.Isnt that what he wanted in the first place? Isnt that the whole reason why the so-called task force pushed back the final captains pick until the eve of the competition? Dont they want to capitalize on picking the hot hand?Instead, Love has remained disappointingly noncommittal. When I asked him last week if hed only consider players who are in this weeks field, he balked at the suggestion.There are guys on our list that are in the Tour Championship and guys on our list that arent in the Tour Championship, he said. Thats why we waited until the last minute, so we would have every option.But he shouldnt want to have every option. He should want a player to force his hand, to feel the pressure on his shoulders all week and perform under that pressure. He should want a player best equipped to deal with the frayed nerves that will undoubtedly develop on the first tee at Hazeltine next week.In other words, he should want exactly what Billy Horschel did two years ago.After winning the BMW Championship, Horschel parlayed that title into another here at East Lake Golf Club, taking the FedEx Cup in the process. He was instantly the hottest golfer in the world, a fiery American player riding a wave of success into the Ryder Cup. The only problem? The final selections were made before Horschel won those events, so he, and the team, never got to reap the benefits.That might not be the lone reason the final wild-card pick was pushed back to after the Tour Championship, but it certainly played a large role. Theres little doubt that if the final pick was made after Horschels season-ending win, he would have gotten the nod.By that logic, Love should open up the competition to every potential candidate.For a team that has lost the past three Ryder Cups and six of the past seven, it could use a jolt of adrenaline from a guy who doees exactly what the U.ddddddddddddS. team needs: someone who plays his best when it means the most.Lets count the options: Theres Watson, who, as the worlds seventh-ranked player, might be the prohibitive favorite. Theres Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger, a couple of fearless up-and-coming stars. Theres Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell, each of whom have been playing terrific golf lately. Theres major-winner Jason Dufner and long-hitter Gary Woodland. Or gritty Kevin Kisner and consistent Kevin Na. And underdogs Roberto Castro, Will McGirt and Sean OHair.Behind closed doors, Love might root for some more than others. He might prefer the experience of Watson, a two-time Masters champion, over a player like Castro, who is still seeking his first career victory.But that shouldnt affect his final decision if one of these players wins.There is an overarching sense that putting too much pressure on a player is a bad thing, that they shouldnt be expected to perform under such burden. Even Jordan Spieth, who safely qualified for the U.S. team long ago, said as much after practicing earlier this week at Hazeltine with three of his potential teammates.I think its challenging; I think its tough, he said. Justin [Thomas] has admitted that hes put so much pressure on the Ryder Cup this year, he thinks its negatively affected some of his performances, where if it just wasnt on his mind at all, hed have maybe felt a little less stress or pressure trying to grab points at the end of the round instead of just playing his game. ... I think theres added pressure, for sure.Isnt that a good thing? Pressure should be viewed as a positive this week, and the candidate who best deals with it deserves to be on the team.Of course, there is the plausible scenario that the Tour Championship winner will be someone who has already qualified for his respective team: Spieth or Dustin Johnson, or Team Europes Rory McIlroy. Or even Jason Day, who isnt eligible, but hinted he would have enjoyed attending the festivities solely as a fan.In the event that none of the dozen hopefuls wins this tournament, Love and his task force can have a conference call, pore over the analytics and go with the popular pick.If any of these players prevail, though, he should automatically be on the team. Thats the whole reason this pick was pushed back to Sunday night.Its just a shame Love hasnt declared it yet. Its a shame he hasnt looked every potential player in the eye before this tournament and told him these four words: Win and youre in. ' ' '