Offtopic/fun » temptation to give Jake Ball a game and re

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Even for Phil Mickelson, his path to the top of the leaderboard Thursday in the U.S. Open was unconventional. He travelled about 2,400 miles in the air and 7,000 yards on the ground. He took a short nap on his private jet from San Diego and another one during a rain delay when he found a secluded corner of the library room in the Merion clubhouse. He carried five wedges but no driver. Some 17 hours later, Mickelson had a 3-under 67 to take the clubhouse lead and match his best opening round in the U.S. Open. Luke Donald is actually ahead of Mickelson at 4-under but he only managed to finish13 holes on Thursday before play was suspended for the day due to darkness, making one last birdie before leaving the course. If you missed the days action you can catch the highlight show tonight on TSN2 at Midnight et/9pm pt. First round coverage will resume Friday morning on TSN at 8:30 am et/5:30 am pt. TSN.ca will deliver live streaming of the 11th and 18th holes, along with a daily marquee group. TSN Digital platforms will also feature up-to-the-minute news, daily highlights, as well as Bob Weeks popular golf blog. Weeks will also answer fan questions on Twitter through @bobatscoregolf, while TSN.ca will feature tweets from Weeks, Jim Nelford, the USGA, and the official Twitter feed of the U.S. Open. Every round is also available on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto and TEAM 1410 in Vancouver, and the third and final rounds can be heard on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal and TEAM 1200 in Ottawa. Mickelson returned from his daughters eighth-grade graduation about 3 1/2 hours before his tee time. He three-putted his first hole for a bogey and didnt give back a shot the rest of the day at Merion, which proved plenty tough by yielding only one other round under par to the 78 players who completed the first round. Because of two rain delays, the first round wont be completed until Friday morning. Mickelson wont have to tee it up again for another 24 hours. Enough time to fly back to San Diego? "I dont want to push it, no," Mickelson said with a tired smile. Tiger Woods faced a tougher road. He appeared to hurt his left hand after trying to gouge out of the deep rough on the opening hole. He grimaced and shook his left wrist again after hitting a 5-wood out of the rough on the fifth hole. He already had three bogeys though five holes before starting to make up ground with a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-4 sixth hole. Woods, however, failed to take advantage on the short stretch of holes in the middle of the round, and he was shaking his hand again after shots out of the rough on the 10th and twice on the 11th. He was 2-over for his round and had a 4-foot par putt on the 11th when play was stopped for the day. "Ive got a lot of holes to play tomorrow," Woods said. "And, hopefully, I can play a little better than I did today." The first round was to resume at 7:15 a.m. Friday, and the forecast called for drier weather for the rest of the week. Masters champion Adam Scott, playing with Woods and Rory McIlroy, was 3-under through 11 holes, while defending U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson was 2-under through eight holes. McIlroy shot even par. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., shot a 2-over 72. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot a 75. Calgarys Ryan Yip is another shot back. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., finished his round with a 78. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., never even got to tee off. Lee Westwood got the full Merion experience. He was 3-under when his approach on the 12th hit the wicker basket -- the signature at Merion, replacing traditional flags -- and bounced off the green, leading to a double bogey. For Mickelson, this could be the start of yet another chance to win the major championship he wants so dearly. Or maybe hes setting himself up for more heartache. He already has been a runner-up a record five times in the U.S. Open. "If Im able -- and I believe I will -- if Im able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that its great," Mickelson said. "Because I will have had ... a win and five seconds. But if I never get that win, then it would be a bit heart-breaking." Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium, the only other player from the morning wave to break par, picked up birdies on the short seventh and eighth holes for a 69. Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Tim Clark, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Jerry Kelly were the only others who at least matched par at 70. Clark and Kelly were at 2 under deep in their rounds until running into trouble, which isnt hard to do in the U.S. Open, especially at Merion. Clark took a double bogey-bogey stretch in the middle of his back nine. Kelly was one shot behind Mickelson until a double bogey on the 18th hole. "Its a lot tougher than they say it is," Schwartzel said. It doesnt take much -- just two holes for Sergio Garcia, who found Merion far more daunting than the few wisecracks from the gallery. Garcia received mostly warm applause, with some barely audible boos from the grandstand when he started his round on No. 11. It was his first time competing in America since his public spat with Woods took a bad turn when he jokingly said he would have Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open and serve fried chicken. "There were a couple here and there," Garcia said about some jeers. "But I felt the people were very nice for the whole day. I think that almost all of them were behind me and that was nice to see." They saw him hit his tee shot out of bounds on No. 14 right before the first rain delay, leading to double bogey. Then, he hooked his next shot out of bounds and hit a bunker shot over the green on his way to a quadruple-bogey 8 at No. 15. Despite being 6-over on those two holes, he rallied for a 73. Mickelson, meanwhile, looked as though he could play this golf course in his sleep. And he nearly did. With two holes remaining, he hit 5-iron into 30 feet on the 237-yard ninth hole and told caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay that he was starting to hit the ball. Despite the constant smiling, Mickelson is intense inside the ropes, and Mackay told him to stop thinking about his swing, his next shot, the course or anything else related to golf during the walk to the green. Lefty rolled in the right-to-left breaking putt for another birdie. "Being able to tune in and tune out was kind of nice the last hole or two," Mickelson said. "Its been a long day." The only other time Mickelson opened with a 67 in the U.S. Open was in 1999 at Pinehurst No. 2, and his oldest daughter was part of that story, too. Mickelson carried a pager with him that week because his wife was due with their first child. He finished one shot behind when the late Payne Stewart holed a 15-foot par putt on the last hole, and Amanda was born the next day. Mickelson was always going to be home before the U.S. Open because Amanda, who turns 14 next week, was chosen to be a featured speaker at her graduation. He left Merion on Monday, a day earlier than planned, when more heavy rain washed out most of the practice round. Besides, Mickelson felt like he knew the course well enough from his scouting trip last week. "She told me that its fine. Stay, its the U.S. Open. I know how much you care about it. And I told her that I want to be there," Mickelson said. "I dont want to miss her speech. I dont want to miss her graduation. She spent nine years at that school. And shes worked very hard and Im very proud of her." The ceremony was at 6 p.m. PDT. Mickelson was on the plane two hours later, landing in Philadelphia about 3:30 a.m. He had a few hours of sleep on the plane, and then played five holes before the rain delay. He found a few cushions for a makeshift bed in the clubhouse library. Despite his four birdies, including a 25-foot putt that fell on its last turn at No. 1, Mickelson saved his round with some crucial pars. He missed the par-3 third green to the right, in fluffy grass down the hill, and hit a flop shot that landed on the collar and stopped 5 feet from the cup. He caught a break when his tee shot went into the hazard left of the fifth fairway, about a foot away from dropping into the small stream. He got that out, hit wedge to 8 feet and made a difficult right-to-left putt. And on the next hole, he swung hard to generate height and spin out of the bunker, the only way to get the ball close. He made an 8-footer for par. Mickelson hit 9-iron to 2 feet on the seventh hole for birdie, and holed that 30-foot putt on the ninth. And then, it was time to rest. "He had a crazy 24 hours," said Keegan Bradley, playing alongside Mickelson and Steve Stricker. "Sometimes that helps, not thinking about it." Upcoming U.S. Open coverage on TSN. Friday, June 14• 8:30am et – Conclusion of First Round • 3pm et – Second Round• 5pm et – Second Round• Midnight ET – First/Second Round Highlight Show (TSN2) Saturday, June 15• 11am et – Third Round Preview Show • Noon et – Third Round • Midnight et – Third Round Highlight Show Sunday, June 16• 11am et – Final Round Preview Show • Noon et – Final Round • Midnight et – Final Round Highlight ShowAir Max 97 Shanghai . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. 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Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend.It will come a year later than anticipated, but Zafar Ansari looks set to make his Test debut in the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Friday.But for a badly-broken left thumb, Ansari would almost certainly have played his maiden Test in the UAE 12 months ago. But, just hours after he was picked for the tour, he sustained the injury in the field, and was subsequently obliged to undergo two operations. Samit Patel was recalled, instead, and he played the Sharjah Test.While Ansari enjoyed a decent rather than spectacular season for Surrey in the County Championship - he averaged 27.43 with the bat and claimed 22 wickets at 31.40 - the England management admires his calm temperament almost as much as his all-round abilities. While they were reluctant to thrust Jack Leach, the Somerset spinner, who enjoyed a more remarkable season - he claimed 68 wickets in the first-class season at an average of 22.58 - into international cricket, they seem to have no qualms about Ansari.The case of Simon Kerrigan continues to influence selectors in such cases. Kerrigan, drafted in for his debut in the final Ashes Test of the 2013 summer, was mauled by Australias batsmen, and appears to have never fully recovered from the experience. Even Leachs captain at Somerset, Chris Rogers, remarked that emotionally, he still has a bit of a way to go before he would consider him suitable for selection. He will instead be given an opportunity to familiarise himself with the England environment as part of the Lions programme.Ansari, though slightly younger, is seen as more worldly and experienced. He gained a first from Cambridge University, and, having graduated through the England age-group system - he played for England at the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 levels - made his international debut in the rain-ruined ODI in Ireland in May 2015. He bowls at a relatively sharp pace, and, as a left-arm spinner whose turn will take the ball away from the right-handers, could prove more useful than a second spinner when England face an Indian top-order heavily stocked with right-handers.Ansari fits the mould of this teaam, too, in that he can bat, bowl and field to a decent standard.dddddddddddd. Generally patient and compact in red-ball cricket, he has opened the batting for Surrey. But, after a modest County season - his highest score was 53 - it seems Ansari will bat at No. 8 for England. That will move Chris Woakes to No. 9, and Adil Rashid, a man with 10 first-class centuries, down to No. 10. It seems Gareth Batty will be the unfortunate one to make way.There might have been a good case for resting Rashid instead. The pitch looks remarkably dry and cracked already, and, while the weather forecast for Dhaka is not wonderful - the city is braced for cyclonic storm Kyant - it seems likely that Bangladesh may take a bit of a risk in preparing a result-surface in the hope that they can square the series. On such turning surfaces, the control of Batty might prove more useful than the turn of Rashid, though Rashid did look as though he would benefit from anther long bowl ahead of the India series.England are also set to recall Steven Finn. He has been bowling with good pace in the nets and will probably replace Stuart Broad, who will have to wait until the India Tests before gaining his 100th Test cap. While there will be a temptation to give Jake Ball a game and rest Chris Woakes, the team management may be wary of making too many changes against an improving Bangladesh side that went within an ace of achieving their first Test victory against England in Chittagong.That means little opportunity for Jos Buttler. While he continues to hit the ball well in the nets - as one of the local net bowlers discovered on Wednesday when he received a black eye after being unable to get out of the way of a straight drive - Jonny Bairstow took another step towards cementing his place with the gloves with an impressive performance standing up to the stumps in Chittagong. And Trevor Bayliss has already indicated that he is keen to stick with the top-six in the batting line-up for the Dhaka Test. ' ' '