The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Kerr ready to defend State Farm Classic title
- Antonio out to get himself a present for his birthday
- Ailing Nowitzki spearheads Mavericks’ fightback to tie Finals
| Kerr ready to defend State Farm Classic title Posted: 08 Jun 2011 05:08 PM PDT SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) - Defending champion Christie Kerr, reigning U.S. LPGA player of the year Yani Tseng and last week's winner Brittany Lincicome headline a loaded field at what will be the final State Farm Classic. This is the last year of sponsorship from State Farm Insurance Companies after 19 years. Playing with the uncertain future of the tournament, players are wary of the viability of Springfield bringing the US LPGA Tour back for a 37th year, though they'll do what they can to help. "I love this tournament. I've been here since I was a rookie and everybody is so nice," said Tseng, the world's top-ranked player. "I really love this place, so anything I can do." Kerr echoed those sentiments. "The LPGA is one of the best investments out there," said Kerr, who is trying to win her third State Farm Classic. "There is unlimited upside to what our tour can deliver, not only from a standpoint of customer entertainment, but the value we bring to any community." Kerr has two runner-up trophies in a row among four top-10 finishes this season. She was second at the Sybase Match Play Championship and tied for second with Jiyai Shin a shot behind Lincicome last week in New Jersey. "I played great. I can't complain," Kerr said. "A couple of putts on the back nine on Sunday go in and I'm winning two tournaments in a row. It's encouraging, a little bit frustrating, but it's a good problem to have." Lincicome hadn't won on the U.S. tour since 2009 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, but had little time to enjoy her ShopRite win last weekend. "It's been kind of crazy," she said. "I had an outing Monday and I was rushing to the airport on Sunday and then got here late. Everyone was like, 'Did you party? Did you celebrate?' I haven't had time." The win was a bit out of the blue for Lincicome, who finished second at the RR Donnelly Founders Cup in March and 13th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. But she had struggled in between, and bringing a new caddie on board has been a big help. "It's been a great partnership so far," Lincicome said of hiring A.J. Eathorne. "I just needed that change. I just needed to hear something different." Last year's State Farm Classic was forced to finish on Monday after storms rolled through the area during the third round. Rough weather could be a factor again as strong thunderstorms are possible on Thursday and Friday at Panther Creek Country Club. Lincicome is concerned about the weather's effect on conditions after playing nine holes on a nearly pristine golf course on Wednesday. "It seems to be perfect," she said. "Felt a little wet, but hopefully we don't get any rain in the next couple of days, which the forecast doesn't look too good for. The greens are great, the fairways are great. The rough is really thick like it normally is here. Fairways are going to be the key this week." Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Antonio out to get himself a present for his birthday Posted: 08 Jun 2011 04:14 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Juan Antonio Los Santos is relishing the prospect of having an early birthday gift in the final of the men's singles tennis competition at the National Tennis Centre in Jalan Duta here today. The Selangor player, who will be celebrating his 19th birthday tomorrow, is hoping to get the better of Khoo Er Yang of Negri Sembilan. In semi-final matches yesterday, Antonio beat Negri's Mohd Faeez Said 6-2, 6-1 while Er Yang defeated Federal Territories' Wan Abdul Muiz 6-2, 6-2. Antonio holds a 2-0 head-to-head record against Er Yang. He was the winner in the third leg of the national circuit last month and was once again victorious in the Sukma men's team semi-final tie. However, he is well aware that he cannot take Er Yang lightly in the fight for the gold medal. "I'm just going to play the way I did throughout the week and although I'm carrying an injury to my right hand, I think I can hold him off for one more time," said the lanky lad of Chinese-Spanish parentage. Antonio suffered the injury in the national circuit three weeks ago and it prevents him from delivering backhands with power. He has to resort to backhand slices to avoid aggravating the injury. Selangor coach S. Selvarajoo said that Antonio has an equal chance to win the final as his opponent is a very hardworking player. "Antonio is arguably the most talented player now in the country while Er Yang has improved a lot and is known for his tremendous effort on court," he said. Meanwhile, Selangor's Alyssa Boey is expected to face a tough time against national No. 1 Jawariah Nordin of Negri Sembilan in the women's final. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Ailing Nowitzki spearheads Mavericks’ fightback to tie Finals Posted: 08 Jun 2011 04:13 PM PDT DALLAS: The Dallas Mavericks used some fourth-quarter fireworks by an ailing Dirk Nowitzki to overcome a 32-point performance by Dwyane Wade and defeat the Miami Heat 86-83 on Tuesday to square the best-of-seven NBA Finals at 2-2. Dallas got 10 final-period points from a feverish Nowitzki, including a clutch basket down the stretch, to overcome a nine-point deficit in the final eight minutes. The 32-year-old All-Star played down his sinus infection and fever, but his team-mates did not. "The average person has sick days and battling 100-something (fever), it's just tough to get out of bed," said center Tyson Chandler, who had 13 points and 16 rebounds. "The doctors tried to keep (the fever) down and they couldn't get it under control. "This guy is playing against the best athletes in the world, and he's putting himself out there, because if he has a terrible night, he's going to get criticised about him not making shots and not stepping up in the challenge." The Mavericks overcame a 74-65 deficit with a 17-4 run to take an 82-78 lead with just over two minutes left, igniting the capacity crowd at the American Airlines Centre. With the Mavericks clinging to an 82-81 lead, Nowitzki drove to the basket tightly guarded by Udonis Haslem and softly banked in a lay-up with 14 seconds left. I was going to play the clock down, but I saw I had a little opening there," said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds but hit only six-of-19 shots from the floor. "So I just went for it. I was able to rip through and go to the right. They really played my left, which obviously the whole league does. "So I was able to rip through and get to my right and finally finish a lay-up." Two foul shots by guard Jason Terry with less than seven seconds left gave the Mavericks an 86-83 lead. After a time out, Wade fumbled the in-bounds pass and shoveled the ball to Mike Miller, who missed a desperation 28-footer. "We had opportunity to win the ballgame," said Wade, who hit only one of two foul shots with 30 seconds left that would have tied the game at 82-82. "The one thing about this series, you see no team is ever safe. When it looks like one team may be in control of the game, the other team comes back. "So that's why it's a 48-minute game." Two-time MVP LeBron James had another miserable game on offence, scoring only eight points and three-of-11 shooting. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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