data-mm-id=”_txy24phye”>Tiger Woods' drive on Riviera Country Club's 10th hole, a devilish and tantalizing 302-yard par-4, came to rest near the lip of a fairway bunker 51 yards from the cup. His second shot traveled barely half that. His third had too much pace to stop before tumbling into a greenside trap. Playing his first competitive round since last summer's Open, it appeared biggest the stamp he'd put on his favored Genesis Invitational would come off the course. And perhaps the evolution from green jackets to emeritus sweaters was further along and more real than those who hope for one last thrill would care admit. Sure, the 47-year-old stood in the same place he stood in 1992 as a 16-year-old with his whole life and ascent to incomparability before him and uncorked a tee shot, which had impressive distance if not aim, and negotiated his body down what seemed to be the type of never-ending staircase built for Grand Central Madison. Each individual step was enough to make us wonder how that body, constantly rebuilt and obsessed over, would hold up. Sure, he'd capitalize on the opening par-5 by wobbling a chip shot win four feet of the pin and converting his birdie putt. But this was the type of real peril that could derail a round, a weekend, and, in this specific case, a year when the years are in short supply.Facing a gnarly up and down just to stop the bleeding at bogey and even par overall, that opening salvo felt like a nice moment of past normalcy before reality came pouring down and meaningful contention was exposed as wishful thinking. We want it for Tiger so badly. Or perhaps we don't want it to be over for Tiger even more. One of these days it will be and his cameos last season did not inspire confidence, even if they inspired. Yes, he'll continue to play, yet we will always be chasing the high of getting one more moment only he can script. But the daydreaming about another major or magical weekend where he outduels legions of incredible talent will be just that.Woods bailed his ball out to eight feet. He nailed a nervy putt and elicited sighs of relief only briefly threatened by giving away another shot on No. 12. Then, in some of the most arresting drama possible on a Thursday, he became the man of an hour.On the par-3 16th, he landed a dart five feet away and made it count. On 17, he uncorked a 297-yard approach missile into the rough before a misfire put him 23 feet from paydirt. A right-to-left sweeper with impeccable pace made it two birdies in a row. And because he's Woods, and because sometimes the past can be the present, Woods birdied the No. 18 with time and doubt and impending reality playing defenseTwo-under and five back from the lead is likely pyrite. Yet it might not be. That is what's so spectacular about watching and seeing Tiger Woods right now. Not the guy you want to be Tiger Woods. It's now not as crazy to think there could be one more Masters in the future. Or one more Open. A limp was there, yet not as prominent as the last time we saw him. On a few occasions he out-drove Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. Signs of competitive rust were scrubbed by his sheer will and mastery. To say nothing of that competitive fire, which manifested in muted yet still powerful fist pumps and confident stalking. For someone who hasn't been ensconced in pressure lately, he looked to have that trademark edge. For someone asked to take on the world's best without a running start, he looked pretty damn capable of keeping up. We got that moment with Woods. And it's perfectly reasonable and responsible to contextualize any joy against knowing there are a finite number remaining. To do so makes it mean more and deepens the experience. It's also perfectly reasonable and, hopefully, ultimately responsible to expect more moments on grander stages. On Sundays even. It's long past the point where that desire has been greedy considering the countless he's already provided. But today showed that maybe, just maybe, it's OK to get really greedy.
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Market: Coventry draw no bet
Odds: 7/10 @
Hoping to make up some ground in the play-off chase this weekend, Coventry will make the trip to a struggling Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Huddersfield might have claimed a much-needed 2-1 victory against Birmingham on February 18th, Neil Warnock s new squad came crashing back down to earth last weekend. Putting in a nightmare display last weekend as they were hit with a 4-0 drumming at the hands of Burnley, the one-time Cardiff boss knows that he has an almighty tussle on his hands in 2023. Still sat four points adrift of Championship safety and tipped as a leading relegation pick this year, the Yorkshire-based outfit have now claimed just a single win from their previous 10 meeting…
Fernando Torres showed that anything his fellow striker David Villa can do he can do too with the precious goal that gave Spain victory over Germany in Sunday s Euro 2008 final.
Villa had stolen most of the limelight away from the Liverpool forward at Euro 2008 up to Sunday night with his four goal harvest making him the competition s leading scorer.
But injury in the first half of the Spaniard s semi-final success over Russia left the big stage clear for the Premier League star.
Torres was deployed by coach Luis Aragones as a lone striker served by a five man midfield featuring his Premier League rival Cesc Fabregas.
And after a hesitant start he made himself known to the German defence in the 20th minute with a looping header which went high.
…
Megan Rapinoe has urged Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as well as other leading male superstars, to be more outspoken on social issues including racism and sexism.
United States international Rapinoe won the women s Ballon d Or this week, joining Messi on the stage at the annual awards gala as the Barcelona great claimed the men s prize for a record sixth time, one more than rival Ronaldo.
But Rapinoe, who has long been vociferous in her opposition to discrimination, does not believe her male counterparts are doing enough.
I want to shout, Cristiano, Leo, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], help me , she told France Football. These big stars do not engage in anything when there are so many problems in men s football.
Do they have the fear of losing everything? T…
It was reported in The Sun last night (11 July 2008) that Manchester United have made a 20 million bid for Tottenham HotspurÂ’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.
Berbatov is likely to add fire power to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez up front.
United have missed a target man since Ruud van Nistelrooy left the club for Real Madrid in 2006.
While Juande Ramos has not been keen to sell his prized asset he may be forced to do so to offset the nearly 50 million that he has already spent this year on players and renovations.
…
Markus Gisdol has been dismissed by Hamburg after rock-bottom Cologne inflicted a fourth successive Bundesliga defeat on them.
The German was hired in September 2016 after Hamburg had failed to win any of their first five league games of the season and he ultimately helped them avoid the drop, finishing 14th.
Suitably impressed with his impact, Hamburg gave Gisdol a new contract until the end of June 2019 in March last year.
However, they have gone backwards so far this season and sit second from bottom with just 15 points from their first 19 matches.
Following yesterday s 2-0 defeat to 1. FC Koln, the board and sporting director Jens Todt have made the decision to relieve head coach Markus Gisdol and his assistants Frank Frohling and Frank Kaspari of the…
New Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo has warned his squad they must stay in line or face heavy punishment.
Villa were relegated from the top-tier of English football for the first time in almost three decades in 2015-16, winning just three league games all season.
The club faced a number of off-field issues to go with their on-field troubles, with promising 20-year-old Jack Grealish being banished from the first team for clubbing after a 4-0 defeat to Everton, while Gabriel Agbonlahor was suspended for reportedly partying following the club s relegation.
Di Matteo, who was officially unveiled as the new Villa boss on Wednesday, said: We are going to have our rules, our code of conduct and if someone steps outside there are certainly going to be consequence…
Swansea City goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel has signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League club.
The 34-year-old s contract was set to expire at the end of the season but he has now committed to the Swans until the end of the 2014/15 campaign, with the option of a further season.
Tremmel has often played second fiddle to first-choice keeper Michel Vorm since joining in 2011 but a succession of injuries to the Netherlands international has seen him make 18 appearances this term.
The former Bayern Munich man is keen to be part of the ever-improving fortunes of the Welsh outfit.
Since the first day I joined this club, I knew something special was happening, Tremmel told the club s official website.
I have been at a number of clubs b…
Rafael Benitez has defended misfiring Chelsea striker Fernando Torres following another ineffective performance against Sparta Prague.
Rafael Benitez has defended misfiring Chelsea striker Fernando Torres following another ineffective performance against Sparta Prague.
Torres missed several chances in the Europa League match at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, as Chelsea were forced to rely on a goal from Eden Hazard to reach the round of 16, seeing off Sparta 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw in the second leg
A 50 million-pound signing from Liverpool in January 2011, Torres has failed to perform consistently during his time in west London, but interim Chelsea coach Benitez stood by the Spain international.
He (Torres) didn t play badly tonight, Benitez said.
You …
Liverpool are greedy for more after advancing to the last 16 of the Champions League as Group E winners by beating Salzburg 2-0 on Tuesday, said Andy Robertson.
Two second-half goals in the space of 100 seconds from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah ensured the holders finished ahead of Napoli, who beat Genk 4-0, in their section.
Keita headed home following a brilliant run and cutback from Sadio Mane, while Salah slotted home from an acute angle at the edge of the box after rounding Cican Stankovic.
Of course, we re greedy for more. We ve got people saying we ve struggled through and we ve got four more points than we did last year, Robertson told BT Sport.
Top of the group and now we go on to the last 16. We know what we can do there and it s all about us …
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Officially, Atalanta play Sassuolo at home in the last round of the 2018/19 Serie A season, although in truth it will be Sassuolo who will be welcoming Atalanta to their Stadio Citta del Tricolore, due to Atalanta s stadium being demolished and the new one under construction, expected to open in 2021.
Atalanta
Despite having no home at the moment, Atalanta are going strong. They are undoubtedly the biggest and nicest surprise of the season; not just in Italy. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has put together a truly formidable team.
They go into the season finale sitting third, behind champions Juventus and runners-up Napoli, but with the same number of points as Inter Milan in fourth (66) and one more than AC Milan in fifth.…