Thursday, December 26, 2013

Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Monday, Dec 16

Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Monday, Dec 16

Reuters 
December 16, 2013 1:00 AM
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Monday:
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NFL
Seahawks rout Giants at MetLife Stadium
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had his first glimpse at MetLife Stadium and it was love at first sight as he led the NFC West leaders to a 23-0 rout of the New York Giants on Sunday. (NFL-SEAHAWKS/ (PIX), moved, by Larry Fine, 500 words)
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Playoff race heats up
The Seattle Seahawks hit the mark for what they hope is their Super Bowl rehearsal by blanking the New York Giants 23-0 on Sunday at the winter-weather site of Super Bowl 48. (NFL-WRAP/ (PIX), moved, 500 words)
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Dolphins deny Pats with late touchdown
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Marcus Thigpen with 1:15 left in the game to lead the Miami Dolphins over the New England Patriots at Sun Life Stadium. (NFL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, 500 words)
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Bengals lose to Steelers, blow chance to sew up playoff spot
Cincinnati blew a playoff opportunity on Sunday with a 30-20 defeat at the hands of division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers that will keep the Bengals from clinching a post-season spot this week. (NFL-BENGALS/ (PIX), moved, 300 words)
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Factbox on NFL playoff picture (NFL-PLAYOFFS/FACTBOX)
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CRICKET
Australia v England, third Ashes test
Australia in charge and on the brink
PERTH - Shane Watson scored 73 runs in 40 balls for a spectacular century before Australia declared at 369 for three with a lead off 503 over England 40 minutes before lunch on the fourth day of the third test at the WACA on Monday. (CRICKET-ASHES/ (PIX), expect throughout, by Nick Mulvenney, 700 words)
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SOCCER
Champions League draw
Holders Bayern Munich and Spanish champions Barcelona are among the 16 teams awaiting to find out who they will play in the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition. (SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/ (PIX), expect by 1130 GMT/6:30 AM ET, 600 words)
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Club World Cup
AGADIR, Morocco - A factbox on the four semi-finalists in the tournament. (SOCCER-CLUB/ (FACTBOX), moved, by Brian Homewood, 1,000 words)
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NBA
Lillard's spin shot gives Trail Blazers win over Pistons
Point guard Damian Lillard's spinning shot in the lane in the final second of overtime gave the Portland Trail Blazers a victory over the Detroit Pistons. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words)
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NHL
Ducks beat Oilers, get another home win
Dustin Penner scored the game-winning goal late in the third period as the Anaheim Ducks defeated theEdmonton Oilers 3-2. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
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NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS
Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (moved, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
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GOLF
Kuchar and English win Shootout event
Americans Matt Kuchar and Harris English, playing together this week for the first time, cruised to a record seven-shot victory at the $3.1 million Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Florida on Sunday. (GOLF-PGA/SHOOTOUT, moved, 250 words)
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GAMES
Southeast Asian Games, Myanmar (to 21)
Copy on merit (Asia Duty Editor: Peter Rutherford)
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Golf-World Rankings

Golf-World Rankings

Reuters 
December 16, 2013 5:13 AM
Dec 16 (Infostrada Sports) - The World Rankings
1. (1) Tiger Woods (U.S.) 11.69
2. (2) Adam Scott (Australia) 9.60
3. (3) Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 9.16
4. (4) Justin Rose (Britain) 7.16
5. (5) Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 7.06
6. (6) Rory McIlroy (Britain) 6.50
7. (7) Matt Kuchar (U.S.) 6.15
8. (8) Steve Stricker (U.S.) 5.72
9. (9) Zach Johnson (U.S.) 5.45
10. (19) Sergio Garcia (Spain) 5.31
11. (11) Jason Day (Australia) 5.29
12. (14) Ian Poulter (Britain) 5.24
13. (10) Brandt Snedeker (U.S.) 5.18
14. (12) Graeme McDowell (Britain) 5.01
15. (13) Jason Dufner (U.S.) 4.98
16. (15) Dustin Johnson (U.S.) 4.80
17. (16) Luke Donald (Britain) 4.76
18. (17) Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 4.74
19. (18) Jim Furyk (U.S.) 4.55
20. (20) Keegan Bradley (U.S.) 4.31
21. (21) Webb Simpson (U.S.) 4.30
22. (22) Jordan Spieth (U.S.) 4.15
23. (23) Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 3.88
24. (25) Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 3.76
25. (24) Lee Westwood (Britain) 3.69
26. (28) Jamie Donaldson (Britain) 3.66
27. (27) Ernie Els (South Africa) 3.55
28. (26) Bubba Watson (U.S.) 3.45
29. (29) Bill Haas (U.S.) 3.35
30. (30) Nick Watney (U.S.) 3.26
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Golf-PGA Tour money list

Golf-PGA Tour money list

Reuters 
December 16, 2013 7:44 AM
Dec 16 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013/14 PGA
Tour on Monday (U.S. unless stated):
1. Ryan Moore 1,520,350 US Dollars
2. Dustin Johnson 1,400,000
3. Harris English 1,361,817
4. Jimmy Walker 1,330,500
5. Webb Simpson 1,251,417
6. Chris Kirk 1,072,308
7. Jason Bohn 859,000
8. Ian Poulter (England) 850,000
9. Gary Woodland 756,000
10. Brian Stuard 746,200
11. Chris Stroud 718,000
12. Charles Howell III 688,074
13. Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) 622,875
14. Vijay Singh (Fiji) 593,400
15. Scott Brown 565,225
16. Tim Clark 563,883
17. Briny Baird 548,375
18. Sergio Garcia (Spain) 526,000
19. Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 480,000
20. Graham DeLaet (Canada) 449,667
(Edited by Caroline Helly)
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2014 Golf Preview: The Year Sergio Garcia Finally Wins a Major

2014 Golf Preview: The Year Sergio Garcia Finally Wins a Major

Other Predictions: Tiger Woods Won't Win a Major, and the Resurfacing of Anthony Kim

Yahoo Contributor Network 
By December 16, 2013 1:10 PM
COMMENTARY | The 2014 golf season will be remembered as the Year of El Niño.
Dating back to Lucas Glover's triumph at the 2009 U.S. Open, 15 of the past 19 major tournaments have been won by first-time major winners.
That trend should continue in 2014, with Sergio Garcia taking the British Open to remove perhaps the biggest monkey to ever grace a golfer's back.
Here's why the time is right for Garcia to break through: For all his struggles and high-profile collapses in recent years, he's still only 33. Another "best golfer without a major" ended his drought at the same age: Phil Mickelson.
Next year's Open Championship will be held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, a course Garcia has played well at. Royal Liverpool hosted the 2006 Open Championship, a tournament won by Tiger Woods with Garcia finishing in a tie for 5th. A brilliant 65 in the third round catapulted the Spaniard into a tie for second heading into the final round.
Garcia turned around a disaster-filled year, highlighted by his collapse at the Players and controversy with Woods, by winning the Thailand Golf Championship this past weekend.
Other predictions for 2014:
Tiger Woods will not win a major. Mentally, he is simply not the same golfer he was before The Scandal. He can't hold a lead, not even at his own tournament while paired up for the final two days with about as comfortable a playing partner as you can find in Zach Johnson.
The pressure is so intense right now for Woods to win another major to prove to critics that he really is back. But his mental game, the one that helped him become the greatest closer of all time in golf, is not there and may never return.
Woods will win another major, perhaps two. But the next major victory will come when we least expect it, when there's less pressure on him, a la Ernie Els at the 2012 British Open or Jack Nicklaus' 18th and final major in 1986 at the age of 46.
Another young American golfer on the rise -- Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker or Hunter Mahan -- will also break through to claim his first major title. In 2011, it was Keegan Bradley. In 2012, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. Last year, it was Jason Dufner. The trend will continue, and my bet is on the long-hitting Johnson, who scored his biggest win to date in November at the HSBC Champions in China.
Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas will resurface. It wasn't that long ago when these two were near the top of golf's elite. Injuries and partying derailed Kim's career over the past couple seasons, while Villegas' freefall to 273rd in the World Golf Rankings has just been puzzling. Villegas showed some signs of life last season and is still just 31 years old, so a bounce-back isn't far-fetched.
Kim is a bigger question mark. He skipped the entire 2013 season to recover from surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. He has three PGA Tour wins, the last coming in 2010. Kim must ditch his "Entourage" lifestyle to regain his form from 2008, when he was today's version of Rory McIlroy, the golfer Nike threw millions of dollars at and perhaps the most popular outside of Woods and Mickelson.
The Tap In
In a recent edition of Sports Illustrated Golf PGA Tour Confidential, a panel of experts weighed whether Woods winning another major or Mickelson winning the U.S. Open to complete the career slam would be the bigger story. The group tied 2-2.
I'll break the tie with an unequivocal vote for Woods winning another major as the bigger story. If that happens, it won't just be the biggest story in golf, it'll rank as one of the top stories in all of sports. That feat would essentially complete his turnaround and, depending on how many other regular tournaments he wins, would likely give him the title as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.
Andy Vuong golfs year-round in Colorado and consistently shoots in the 80s when he doesn't hit 90 or higher. Follow him on Twitter @andyvuong.
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14 added to Masters field through world ranking

14 added to Masters field through world ranking

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)December 16, 2013 3:00 PMAP - Sports
14 added to Masters field through world ranking
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Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, speaks during a media conference before the Masters golf tournament Wednesday, April 10, 2013, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Augusta National added 14 players to the field for the Masters when the final world ranking of the year was published Monday.
That brings the field to 90 players who are expected to compete April 10-13, and again raises the possibility of the Masters exceeding 100 players for the first time in nearly 50 years. Augusta National has the smallest field of the four majors and prefers to keep it under 100 to enhance the overall experience at its tournament.
This is the third time in the last four years that the field was at least 90 players going into a new calendar year. There were 99 players for the 2011 Masters, the most since 103 players competed in 1966.
Those who qualified by being in the top 50 of the final ranking were Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, David Lynn, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hanson, Joost Luiten and Branden Grace.
Players can still qualify by winning a PGA Tour event (except for the Puerto Rico Open) or being in the top 50 on March 30, a full week before the Masters.
Matsuyama qualified at No. 23. It will be his third appearance at the Masters, and his first as a pro. Matsuyama was a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, which awards an exemption to the Masters. He made the cut both times as an amateur.
''I'm ecstatic I qualified for the Masters through my play for this year,'' Matsuyama said through an interpreter in October, when it was clear he would be in the top 50.
He won four times this year on the Japan Golf Tour and had a pair of top 10s in the majors.
Fowler was the only American of the 14 from the world ranking, though two other players (Peter Hanson, David Lynn) were PGA Tour members, who have more options available to them during the year.
The Masters changed the criteria for the 2014 tournament, though that appears to have little bearing on the number of qualified players. Because the PGA Tour went to a wraparound season (October through September), the Masters awarded spots to the winners of tournaments held in the fall. Jimmy Walker, Ryan Moore and Chris Kirk qualified by winning those events. The other winners of fall events - Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson and Harris English - previously were eligible for the Masters.
Augusta National eliminated the category for top 30 on the money list, though that didn't keep out any player who qualified.
The club now takes the top 12 and ties from the previous Masters (instead of the top 16) and the top four and ties from the U.S. Open (instead of the top eight). That eliminated only one player - David Toms - who would have been eligible under the previous category. The others would have made it through other criteria.
When the FedEx Cup was created in 2007, Augusta National returned to its practice of inviting PGA Tour winners (at events that offered full FedEx Cup points). Since then, the largest increase in the field from January until the Masters was the addition of 11 players for this year's tournament.
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