Sonstiges » d Yoan Moncada, Sam

A change of heart could pay massive dividends for Graeme McDowell after the former U.S. Open champion survived a windswept opening day of the Scottish Open.On a day when winds gusting up to 40mph sent scores soaring, McDowell carded a two-under 70 to lie a shot off the lead held by Australias Scott Hend and Chiles Felipe Aguilar at Castle Stuart.McDowell had previously accused the Scottish Open of losing its identity and prestige by moving to the one-dimensional course outside of Inverness, which only opened in 2009.But after apologising to the tournament sponsors the Ryder Cup star was welcomed back with open arms and enjoyed the tougher test after spending two days in similar conditions at Open venue Royal Troon.Myself and Martin Gilbert [chief executive of sponsors Aberdeen Asset Management] have gotten a little closer over the years, McDowell joked after a round containing four birdies and two bogeys.Im really quite surprised by how good the golf course is. It really does feel like its designed for this wind direction.Its a beautiful piece of land here and has a really nice architectural mix of short [par] fours and tough [par] fives and its a helluva lot more narrow than I remember it. People are going to say Im full of s--- having criticised it pretty heavily and now Im saying its good. But Im allowed to change my mind and I like the golf course.McDowell missed the cut with rounds of 80 and 73 in the French Open last week, but made the most of his early exit to practice at Royal Troon, where he made his Open debut in 2004.I think the two days at Troon were a big help coming into this week, added the 36-year-old, who needs to produce some good performances to extend his record as the only European player to qualify automatically for the last four Ryder Cups. The wind really blew hard Saturday and Sunday when I was there. If it continues to blow like this, this is going to be a grind this weekend.Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington produced the best round of the later starters to join McDowell on two under, along with former U.S. PGA champion YE Yang, Swedens Alex Noren and the English quartet of Richard Bland, Tyrrell Hatton, Andy Sullivan and Eddie Pepperell. Inverness native Russell Knox was just three off the lead after a 72 but criticised the terrible set up of the 18th hole, which only one player in the top 20 managed to birdie.Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson remained upbeat despite an opening 76, while compatriot J.B. Holmes could be forgiven for wishing his clubs had never arrived after struggling to an opening 80.It was tough but I think this course is so well designed that it can accommodate difficult conditions, Mickelson said. Its a very fair test. I thought it was very playable even in such challenging conditions.Unfortunately I really struggled on the greens and missed quite a few short putts that prevented me from shooting a score around par.Holmes only received his clubs at 7pm on Wednesday evening after they were lost in transit from last weeks WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.The former Ryder Cup player -- who was part of the last U.S. victory in 2008 -- immediately headed out to practice but it failed to do him much good as he slumped to nine over par after 12 holes. NFL Jerseys Discount .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. http://www.cheapwholesalejerseyschina.com/ . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Cheap Stitched NFL Jerseys . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Red Sox might replace retiring designated hitter David Ortiz internally or with a short-term free agent, rather than pursue one of the prominent long-term options on the market, Bostons president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters at the MLB general managers meetings on Monday.Ortiz, a 10-time All-Star, hit 38 home runs, drove in 127 runs and led the major leagues with an OPS of 1.021 in the final season of a 20-year career. He won the Hank Aaron Award as the American Leagues best hitter this season.Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Mark Trumbo are among the top power hitters available on the free-agent market. But they are all expected to seek multiyear deals, and Dombrowski said the Red Sox might take a more modest approach to filling their DH spot.Im not sure if were going to do it internally with a lot of the people we have or go outside the organization, Dombrowski said. We know we can never replace [Ortizs] presence. But we have a lot of guys who can play different positions. We have young guys coming that we like a great deal, so well just kind of have to wait to see what happens there.There are a lot of different factors. One is affordability, but not only that. How long do you want to tie somebody up for that position when we have a lot of young players coming? Thats a very important part of it.First baseman Hanley Ramirez is under contract through 2018 and has a vesting option for 2019, and Pablo Sandoval is expected to return from a shoulder injury and be back in the mix for the starting third-base job next season. With Travis Shaw capable of playing both cornerr infield positions, the Red Sox have some flexibility to use both Ramirez and Sandoval at DH.ddddddddddddIf the Red Sox decide to pursue a free agent on a shorter deal, switch-hitters?Kendrys Morales and?Carlos Beltran are potential options. The Red Sox reportedly inquired about Beltran at the trade deadline in July, before the New York Yankees dealt him to the Texas Rangers. Beltran, 39, hit .295 with 29 homers and an .850 OPS in 151 games with the Yankees and Rangers in 2016.Dombrowski mentioned Yoan Moncada, Sam Travis and Rafael Devers as prospects who might not be far from having an impact with the big league club.Moncada, 21, is ranked among the elite prospects in baseball. He posted a .918 OPS in two minor league stops to earn a September call-up to Boston. But Dombrowski expects him to return to the minors to begin the 2017 season.In July, we would have said we thought he would be ready for the big leagues this year, Dombrowski said of Moncada. We still love his abilities, but we all saw the same thing as far as the exposure to a steady diet of off-speed pitches and breaking balls and changeups. I think he would be able to play third base well enough with a month of spring training, and he does have versatility. But right now, his bat probably needs some seasoning at the minor league level.I cant rule him out, because Ive seen some very talented individuals like him come on very quickly. But if we are starting the season tomorrow, he would probably start at the minor league level. ' ' '