Graeme McDowell storms to French Open

GRAEME McDowell produced a final round four-under-par 67 to lead home the field by four strokes to become the first Northern Irishman to win the French Open.

2010 U.S. Open champion finished the tournament with a total of nine-under-par 275 in the final round at first strained finally be showing a man with McDowell cantering home to pick winners cheque 500,000 euros ($ 711,000).

Nearest rival at Le Golf National, Richard Sterne of South Africa, who held the lead after nine holes before collapsing down the stretch and finishing with three bogeys in six holes.

McDowell rock solid game only for four bogeys throughout the tournament was the second victory of the year basic.

Sterne settled for second on five-under-par 279.

English and Spanish Graeme Storm Eduardo De La Riva has been paired together for the final round and both men fired 69S two-under-par to claim part of the third place at four-under.

“I've always felt that this golf course is one I can get around well. And coming into this week has been a bit strange for me, too many missed cuts and a little bit inconsistent,” said McDowell.

“I felt my confidence coming back and hit the ball beautifully Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And today I was very realistic about my chances.”

Sterne led by one shot after a see-saw nine holes before McDowell birdied the 10th to draw level and is seen as South Africa drives tee shot on the 11th into the rough.

With no obvious side green, Sterne did well to get the pin 40 feet before getting into the first two bogey afternoon, McDowell put back in the driving seat at eight under.

The 31-year-old from Pretoria, looks certain to lose more ground on 13 when he sliced ​​a second shot into the water but fine approach shot 25 feet to save par prevent a back.

McDowell, who is looking for sixth win in eight games play a stroke when leading after three rounds, and Sterne then heading towards what most players have described as the toughest four finishing holes on the European Tour.

Both players pared 15 before the treacherous past three16th produced another swing on luck to McDowell.

His tee shot missed the green before leaving lucky bounce the ball in a position where he was able to two-putt for par.

Sterne Meanwhile, the pressure took its toll when he missed the 10-foot putts for par and second bogey in five holes ahead of McDowell handed two shots with two holes to play. He never looked back.

McDowell's win following his victory earlier this year at the Volvo World Match Play Championship and put him in second place in the Race to Dubai at 1530715 €, just 27,185 behind U.S. Open champion Justin Rose.

News from: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/golf/graeme-mcdowell-storms-to-french-open/story-fnaxw0m2-1226675818685

By: YC

JILL PAINTER: Kobe Bryant not worried about Dwight Howard or his Achilles

GOLETA - Kobe Bryant walks around without a limp and a funny look the same questions that accompanied doubt whether the Lakers will be a championship contender in the era after Dwight Howard.

That's more like Bryant Lakers fans have come to know and love. Bryant is on the road to recovery from Achilles tendon surgery and clearly is ready to move past the Howard era. He did not dissect and wonder and reeling over what the Lakers can do to keep Howard fragile here.

"You think once a guy goes someplace else I'm going to waste my time trying to figure out why that happened?" Bryant said.

Believe him. He was over Howard as fast as he could hit that unfollow link on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Bryant started a basketball camp on the campus of UC Santa Barbara announced his theme for the week: the challenge. He lived with the theme of each session restoration, and has just been through the ringer Howard independent agency with the rest of the NBA.

Young campers praising walk to midcourt at the event, a move that looks like he can dial into the sprint to the hoop and dunk with authority in the blink of an eye.

“He could shoot”, he said, but he's not yet.

"We just don't trust that the tendon is holding," Bryant said. "Typically, it's four months minimum until the tendon is holding, and it's not going to overstretch. We'll just wait until that window."

Bryant is progressing faster than was expected, he said, but we still don't have a return date. Faster is better for the Lakers, who return essentially the same team, only without Howard and with Chris Kaman. They're better off without all that Dwightmare drama.

Bryant will walk and talk with campers, but there won't be any show-and-tell drills.

"The Lakers would have a heart attack," Bryant said. "I'll just kind of be walking through showing them things."

One of the things that he wanted to emphasize to them is competition. Not afraid to be competitive. He told the camp he wanted them to work on things they do not already know how, like dribbling with their left hand, instead of doing what they already controlled.

Competing in Los Angeles is not for Howard. Howard could not hack the pressure. Why else would he walk away from $ 30 million more than he got with the Rockets and the opportunity to play with Bryant?

Asked if he didn't think Howard was mentally tough enough to be a Laker, Bryant said: "I don't really know about that. Everybody is cut differently. He has his way of leading that he feels would be most effective and works for him.

"Obviously, the way we've gone about it with this organization and the leaders we've had -- myself, Magic and Kareem -- we've done it a different way."

Bryant’s media session here is more about Howard than anything, and that's the way it should be. Especially after Bryant posted a photo snarky of himself and Pau Gasol and the Lakers heart (written in Spanish) on it, as if a fine shot at Howard. He also unfollowed Howard on Twitter, though he laughed when asked about the famous unfollow.

"Listen. It's just me. That's how I am," Bryant said. "I have a hard time following people that want to beat us. I have a hard time doing that.

"Not to say we're not friends or I don't respect him. It's just that I have a hard time doing that."

Reportedly, Bryant had challenged Howard in the Howard meeting with Lakers' brass. Steve Nash did not feel as if the Lakers had a shot and was surprised Howard did not feel his teammates had his back.

Bryant gave us a view of the meeting he walked into recently.

"I didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you," Bryant said. "I walked in there and everybody is sitting down and everybody is quiet. I didn't know what the hell was going on. Everybody was dead-ass serious. It was pretty funny to me. I didn't have a sense one way or the other. I felt it was a good conversation."

It wasn't good enough for Howard to return to the Lakers in the end.

The Lakers' public fawning over Howard -- complete with the "StayD12" billboards, both stationary and movable -- didn't appear to anger Bryant.

"It's fine. What the hell do I care?" Bryant asked. "I think it's great.

"If you want a player back, you have to do whatever you can to bring him back."

And that's why the Lakers' physical therapist, Judy Seto, is traveling with Bryant everywhere he goes, in an effort to bring Bryant back from injury sooner rather than later.

He's the important piece to the Lakers puzzle. The pieces surely won't equal a championship this year, to which Bryant responded: "I'm going to fold the tent and white flag it. We have no shot."

Denote heavy sarcasm.

With the salary cap freed and free agents like LeBron James available in 2014, anything is possible.

No more limp. No more Howard. With a healthy dose of Bryant's competitive talk. The Lakers star is on his way back.

News from: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_23638099/painter-kobe-bryant-not-worried-about-dwight-howard

By: YC

Derek Jeter to return to Yankees lineup Thursday against Royals: report

MOOSIC, Pa. — The Yankees ship will once again be steered by The Captain.

On Thursday Derek Jeter will be wearing pinstripes for the first time since suffering a broken ankle against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS, according to a FoxSports.com report. He is expected to be penciled in as the shortstop or designated hitter when Andy Pettitte takes the ball for the Bombers against Kansas City's Ervin Santana at 1 p.m. in the Bronx, says the report, which cites Major League sources.

Although the report was originally expected Jeter to be back on Friday, the Yankees must have seen something in the final game with Triple-A rehab Scranton-Wilkes/Barre on Wednesday night.

Yankee captain appeared to move well on the ankle twisted and has broken on his left, but he experienced moments between seven chance of rust resistance in seven innings - including a throwing error - in the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre 's 5-1 loss to Rochester.

“I felt good. A lot of different situations happened, but everything was great,” said Jeter, who left the game following a 21-minute delay in the bottom of the seventh inning caused by a power outage at PNC Field. 

“There were a couple of different types of plays... Just a little timing was off. But it was good to do an array of things in the field.”

After the game, Jeter wouldn’t disclose his immediate plans for the next two days, saying, “I ain’t getting in trouble, man.”

Joe Girardi also was coy following the Yankees’ 8-1 win over Kansas City at the Stadium, adding, “I know there’s reports out there. We evaluate it every day and let’s just see where he’s at.”

Earlier, the manager has insisted that the Yankees needed to see Jeter play long innings in the field in back to back games before deciding when their captain will make his season debut. If he does play Sunday, that will not be the case.

13-time All-Star made some good plays on the ball he had to charge a fee, but he committed a throwing error in the fifth inning and survived longer when first baseman Dan Johnson scooped his throw bounced in the first. He also double clutched flip to second base in a game that has scored a hit, and he threw late to third on a grounder in the hole.

 “I think I worked in Florida about 20, 30-something days in a row. I’ve been out there back-to-back days, just not back-to-back games,” Jeter said. “So I don’t look at it as a hurdle. They may, but I don’t.”

Jeter also said he did not talk with General Manager Brian Cashman because he admitted he pleaded his case that he felt ready to return before the third match here on Monday.

“Derek would have had himself here last week,” Girardi said. “That’s the bottom line. You have to trust the people that are watching him. There’s not really a lot of (pleading) going on. It’s just he has to play in some games.... We all understand that and we have to make sure he’s ready.”

Jeter, who went hitless in three trips (one strikeout) falls to 1-for-9 with four walks over four appearances recovery, acknowledging the problem persists attack Yanks' without some full-injured has made it more disappointing that he is not yet back in the Bronx before Thursday.

“Of course, the team goes undefeated, I still want to be there, but yeah, you’d like to think you can help,” Jeter said.

“I think all things considered, our team’s done a pretty good job. We’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of player movement, but I think we’ve held our own.”

                                                                                                       
News from: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/jeter-back-to-back-coming-back-article-1.1395585#ixzz2Yj8kmNQ9

By: YC

Squash: Rachel aims to claw her way back

PETALING JAYA: Top junior Rachel Arnold did not enjoy the best of times at the Asian Junior Squash Championships last month.

So, she cannot wait to make up for the Women's World Junior Championships in Wroclaw, Poland, from July 16 to 27.

The 17-year-old came close to scoring an upset over top choice Anaka Alankamony India in the last quarter of the Under-19 category, but, despite holding a 2-1 lead, she allowed her opponent to come back strong to win in five sets.

Frustrated and unhappy, she is not eager to do better when he makes his world junior debut.

It will not run smoothly for the ninth to the 16th seed, however, because even though the first round bye she attracted to meet Asian Junior Under-17 champion Effluent Shan Choi Hong Kong in the second round.

Victory will see United face Maria Elena Ubina in the third round, with a potential clash against fifth-seeded eighth joint Mariam Ibrahim Metwally Egypt in the last 16.

“It was quite a disappointing Asian Juniors for me because I was nearly through to the semi-finals. But Anaka was simply the better player on that day and I made too many mistakes,” said Rachel.

“I’ve learned a lot from that defeat and I’m quite sure I will not make the same mistakes.

“As for the World Juniors, I’m quite excited as it’s my debut. I’m also a little nervous because there’s also the team event ... which adds more pressure.”

Team events range from 22 to 27 July, a day after the end of the individual competition. Malaysia is ranked sixth in 2011.

“I played in the team events in Sukma and also the Asian Juniors, but the world juniors will be a different challenge,” said Rachel.

“Luckily, I’ll have Vanessa (Raj) and Celine (Yeap), who played in the 2011 World Junior Championships, with me and I can get some pointers from them,” said Rachel.

The fourth member of the team will be 14-year-old S. Sivasangari.

News from: http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Squash/2013/07/10/Rachel-Arnold-on-WJ.aspx

By: YC

Cavendish sprayed with urine by angry fans at Tour de France

(CNN) -- The Tour de France remains one of the few prestigious events where spectators can almost reach out and touch the riders -- or throw urine on them as Mark Cavendish found out Wednesday.

The British rider, who has been cleared of any wrongdoing following a collision with Tom Veelers just 24 hours before, was the target of angry fans as he rode through the 33 kilometer individual time trial between Avranches and Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy.

Highly fragmented cycling fans spilt over Cavendish - with some unimpressed by his perceived arrogance and a huge ego, while others prefer an insatiable desire to win.

Cavendish refused to talk about the incident after being splashed with urine by angry viewers in the evening he will soon want to forget.

Omega Pharm his teammate Tony Martin won the 11th stage with Chris Froome keeps the yellow jersey, but it was Cavendish who was again in the limelight.

"It is disappointing to hear about one individual like that," Froome told reporters of the incident after extending his lead to three minutes and 25 seconds.

"That's one of the beauties of our sport. Anyone can come and watch at the side of the road and enjoy the excitement and really get close to the top riders in the world.

"Mark is one of the big characters in the sport, and some people love him, some people hate him.

"But to do something disrespectful like that, that's really sad. It ruins the whole atmosphere."

Although it is considered a first-time riders were attacked in such a way that during the Tour, there are other instances where riders have been abused.

In 1975, Eddy Merckx was punched in the kidney in order to claim his sixth Tour victory, while Lance Armstrong was given a bodyguard in 2004 after suffering a death threat.

Cavendish has endured a miserable couple of days, missed winning the 25th stage on Tuesday, while slipping 103 points behind green jersey leader Peter Sagan.
Meanwhile, Omega Pharm team manager Patrick Lefevere revealed that Cavendish feeling 'sad' after the incident.

"I regret this, I always felt that cycling fans were gentlemen, enthusiastic people," he told reporters

"Mark is sad, he's not upset, just sad. I cannot blame anyone, there are 100,000 or 200,000 people on the road, and one person decided to do this."

Martin claimed an expected victory on the road in the time trial after finishing 12 seconds ahead of Froome.
He had won his previous nine time trials in all competitions, finished the course with the third fastest time ever recorded on the Tour.

When Froome appeared to be challenging for victory as the German revealed he began to worry.

"To be honest, I'd almost given up hope of the stage win," he told reporters. "It was starting to look very disappointing when I saw Chris beat my times at the intermediate check.

"I nearly started to cry. I couldn't believe it. I expected that Froome might get to within 30 seconds or something like that but not beating me at the intermediates.

"Now I'm really happy and maybe it's nicer to win this way."

News from: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/10/sport/cycling-cavendish-tour-de-france-urine/index.html?hpt=isp_c1

By: YC

Luna Rosa boycotts opening race of Louis Vuitton Cup

The Traditional bickering over the America’s Cup rules marred since the beginning of the Louis Vuitton on Sunday.

The Italians Luna Rosa pulled out from their first races with Emirates Team New Zealand in protest over the rule changes.

In order to officially win the first of several America’s Cup challenger trials Kiwis therefore sailed the San Francisco race course alone.

Changes in the rules for AC72 impressive twin-hulled boat was recommended after British Olympian Andrew Simpson was killed in an accident in May that also damaged the Artemis Racing’s boat.

A jury hearing for the Italian’s protests was not scheduled until Monday – a day after the opening race.

Swedish-based Artemis Racing is now in a race against the clock to prepare for their new boat for competition in two weeks time race.

Artemis completed three challengers who from the Louis Vuitton Cup round robin series.

The leading team after five rounds-robins will lead to the end and leaving the other two to compete in the semifinals starting August 6.

The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will face Oracle Team USA in the 34th America’s Cup beginning Sept. 7.

The race between Emirates Team New Zealand and Italy’s Luna Rosa is scheduled for Saturday for the second round robin race.

News from: http://www.euronews.com/2013/07/08/luna-rosa-boycotts-opening-race-of-louis-vuitton-cup/

By: YC

BACKING IT UP

WITH TATE HURT, STAMPEDERS’ GLENN GETS THE CALL IN MONTREAL

CALGARY- the Calgary Stampeders starting quarterback Friday against the Montreal Alouettes will played by Kevin Glenn.

John Hufnagel the head coach and general manager for Stampeder his backup will get the start in Montreal.

No. 1 quarterback Drew Tate has a strained forearm muscle in his throwing arm.

In this practice week Tate hasn’t thrown the football.

Calgary and Montreal are both 1-1.

News from: http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=427409

By: YC