New Guy´s » McIlroy heads south to Valhalla with a full head of steam

OKLAHOMA CITY - One week after surgery on his broken right hand, Russell Westbrook is upbeat about his recovery and trying to help his injury-riddled team find a way to survive without current NBA MVP Kevin Durant and himself on the court. Cheap Shoes NZ .Westbrook met with the media for the first time since suffering a small fracture early in the Thunders October 30th loss to the L.A. Clippers. He underwent surgery the following day, and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.For the three-time NBA All-Star, it was the fourth surgery in less than two years and another frustrating moment for one of the leagues most mercurial competitors.I missed a shot and tried to come back up and get a rebound and I hit my hand on Perks (teammate Kendrick Perkins) elbow. I knew I hurt something, I thought I dislocated my finger of something. I couldnt tell until I got the ball back when I ran back down the court and couldnt dribble, said Westbrook. I was already mad once I hit my hand because I knew it wasnt gonna be good, so I was instantly upset and frustrated. Obviously, I was ready to go and ready to help my team go out and get wins, especially since we were down some guys already. It was frustrating for me, but itll be alright. Ill get back to where I was at.Already hobbled by injuries to Durant and newcomer Anthony Morrow, the injury to Westbrook wasnt the end of the misfortune. Forward Perry Jones and guards Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson have also missed games, while rookie forwards Mitch McGary and Grant Jarrett have yet to begin their NBA careers due to injuries. On most nights, the team has had only eight available players.The Thunder has been competitive in five of six games, but saw their record fall to 1-5 after a 91-89 home loss to Memphis Friday night. Oklahoma City has had to employ journeymen Sebastian Telfair and Lance Thomas in the starting lineup and recently picked up another well-travelled guard in Ish Smith.Coach Scott Brooks is trying to stay positive while waiting for the return of his superstars, which will likely not come until January. Until they can get back on the court, Brooks is trying to keep Westbrook and Durant involved in encouraging the players who are trying to hold down the fort.He and Kevin are incredible encouragers during games. They are cheering every possession and they get on guys during huddles when needed, Brooks said. Theyre involved, theyre engaged, they want to make an impact while theyre not playing and thats good to see.For his part, Westbrook is happy to play that part while he waits to return to the court.Just try to find a way that we can help guys. You dont wanna talk to nobody once you start the game because it gets annoying, Westbrook said. Youve got to find a way to get through to people even if it is off the floor, timeouts, whatever it is, just find a way to help the team out. Wholesale Shoes NZ . -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no concerns about the health of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was limited to 17 games last season due to leg injuries. Shoes NZ From China . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition.AKRON, Ohio -- Winning the British Open wasnt enough to make Rory McIlroy want to take the rest of the year off to celebrate. Neither was the first World Golf Championship he won Sunday at Firestone. Another major awaits next week. McIlroy cant wait to get there. Two weeks after his wire-to-wire win at Royal Liverpool, McIlroy took his game from the links of Britain to the parkland of America and made the game look just as easy. With another powerful performance, he wiped out a three-shot deficit to Sergio Garcia in three holes, closed with a 4-under 66 and returned to No. 1 in the world with a two-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational. He looked just as good as the last time he reached No. 1 in the world during his torrid stretch at the end of 2012. "This is better," he said. "Mentally, Im really sharp. I didnt start to think about score. I didnt think about where I was in the tournament. I just playing shot after shot after shot. So yeah, its good." Garcia wasnt at his best and closed with a 71. Hes not sure it would have mattered. "Everybody saw it," Garcia said. "He played very, very well. He drove the ball miles and very, very straight for the most part. He gave himself a lot of birdie looks." McIlroy finished the third round with two straight birdies, and not even one day and a rain delay slowed him. He punched an 8-iron out of the rough, under the trees and up the slope to an elevated green to 3 feet to open with a birdie. He drilled a 4-iron from 219 yards into 25 feet for a two-putt birdie at the second, and then followed with a gap wedge to 8 feet for a third straight birdie. Garcia made bogey from the rough, and just like that, he was trailing. The Spaniard never caught up. McIlroy became the 13th player with a major and a World Golf Championship, and he joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win them in consecutive starts. Woods wasnt around to see it. Four months after back surgery, and in his third tournament since his return, Woods injured his lower back when he landed with a thud in the stand from an awkward stance atop a bunker on the second hole. He withdrew after a tee shot on the ninth hole, bending over slowly and struggling to remove the tee from the ground. It was not clear he Woods could play in the PGA Championship next week. McIlroy heads south to Valhalla with a full head of steam. After a brief celebration with the claret jug, he was determined to move forward and chase more titles over the final four months of the year. He backed it up with a powerful performance on a soggy Firestone course to take the top spot in the world from Adam Scott. Shoes NZ Online. "Thats the most pleasing thing about this week is not dwelling about what happened at Hoylake," he said. "Thats what Ill have to do after this, as well. Ive just got to keep moving forward. Its great to have a chance to try to go there to win three in a row. But if youd have asked me what Im proudest of this week, its the mindset that I took into here of not being complacent. I wanted to come here and really contend." McIlroy finished at 15-under 265 and won $1.53 million, leaving him $765 short of Bubba Watson on the PGA Tour money list. More important was the world ranking. He lost the No. 1 position in March 2013 when his game was in a downward spiral as he was adjusting to a new equipment deal and going through another management change. But since winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth at May, his game looks as strong as ever. "Obviously, Rory is in incredible form at the moment," Scott said. "Hell be the man to beat next week by the look of things. And Ill be gunning for him, for sure." Garcia was a runner-up to McIlroy for the second straight time. The Spaniard had the daunting task of making up a seven-shot deficit at the British Open, and Garcia put up a great fight until finishing two shots behind at Hoylake. Staked to at three-shot lead at Firestone, it didnt go much better. Garcia missed a 6-foot birdie on the par-5 second hole with a putt that never looked as if it was going in. His lead down to one, Garcia pulled his tee shot into the gallery on the third hole, striking a woman on the hand and knocking the diamond out of her ring. The diamond was found, about the lone bright spot in his day. Garcia made bogey, and McIlroy rolled in another birdie putt to take the lead. Garcia made only one birdie, on the ninth hole to share the lead. McIlroy answered with an 8-foot birdie on No. 11 and was on his way. Marc Leishman (67) finished alone in third. Patrick Reed holed out for eagle on No. 17 in his round of 65 and gave him a tie for fourth, enough to move him up to No. 7 in the Ryder Cup standings and boost his hopes of making his first team with only the PGA Championship left in the qualifying period. Phil Mickelson made 10 birdies for a career-best 62 at Firestone. None of that could top McIlroy, who put on another exhibition and looked every bit the part of the worlds best player. ' ' '