KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Brandt Snedeker starts a new year in golf with hopes of avoiding an old problem -- staying healthy.
Cheap Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee. "I had been on one all day in this pro-am," Snedeker said Wednesday. "I was going down the last hole, seeing how fast I could get it going. I hit a sprinkler head, lost control a little bit and jumped off. I landed on my knee and my knee popped." He feared he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament. Just his luck, he only suffered a small tear, along with a cracked tibia and a deep bone bruise. It was enough to keep him out of the Australian PGA, World Challenge in California and the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Florida. Harris English replaced him as Matt Kuchars partner in the Shootout, and they went on to win. Snedeker said the knee feels good, though the real test starts Friday. He spent last week playing at Hideaway in the California desert, walking 18 holes a day and carrying his own bag. The good news at Kapalua is that he has his caddie. Not so good is that the Plantation Course was built on the side of a mountain, featuring some of the steepest climbs hell face all year. "Ive had a few aches and pains of playing again, but nothing that concerns me," Snedeker said. "The only thing Im worried about is walking 18 holes here. Palm Springs is dead flag. Walking this golf course is a little different." And the last time the six-time PGA Tour winner carried his own bag? "Its funny, I got into this routine of doing it after injuries," Snedeker said. Not so funny is that it has become a routine. In his seven years on tour, Snedeker has had surgery on both hips to correct a degenerative problem. He missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of a rib injury. After one of the hottest stretches of last year -- second to Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, second to Phil Mickelson in Phoenix and then a victory at Pebble Beach -- Snedeker had recurring problems with his ribs and missed the next month. Snedeker said his rookie season was his only injury-free year. "Its very concerning," he said. "I dont consider myself that, but the evidence bears out that I am injury-prone. Over the course of your career, youre going to have injuries. Im hoping all mine are in a five-year stretch." Hes been taking medication and paying close attention to his diet to stay on top of his fitness, but just like most people, Snedeker will stray on occasion. "You get healthy and you forget about it," he said. "You get injured and you start worrying. Im no different from anyone else." Now, he can hope thats all behind him. Snedeker believes the best part of his career is ahead of him, and hes excited about the major championship venues, with Pinehurst No. 2 among his favourite course in America. He was tied with Angel Cabrera going into the final round of the Masters last year, and he has come to love links golf at the British Open, with strong showings the last two years. His biggest goal for 2014? "Im looking forward to playing an injury-free year," he said with a grin.
Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys . Maxime Presseaults goal at 13:59 of the second period broke a 2-2 deadlock for the Foreurs, who trailed the series 3-2 before winning back-to-back games, and Guillaume Gelinas and Pierre-Maxime Poudrier also scored.
Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Tanaka has certainly lived up to the hype this season, going 10-1 with an American League-best 2.02 ERA. The Japanese right-hander went the distance to win his fourth straight start on Wednesday in Seattle, as he held the Mariners to a pair of runs and six hits. SALT LAKE CITY -- Strong defence has saved Arizona in several games this season. It was no different against a determined underdog in a tough environment on the road. Gabe York and Nick Johnson each scored 15 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 13 and the fourth-ranked Wildcats escaped with a 67-63 overtime victory against Utah on Wednesday night. Arizona held the Utes to one field goal over the final 5 minutes and forced a critical turnover in the closing seconds. "We just had to buckle down," Johnson said. "We had to buckle down on defence. We had to rebound. They were really getting us on the offensive rebounds." The score was tied at 58 before Hollis-Jefferson made two baskets to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 1:52 left in overtime. His first bucket came after he snagged an offensive rebound. The second one came after Brandon Taylor, an 86 per cent free throw shooter, missed three straight from the line to prevent Utah from taking the lead. "Rondae had some offensive rebounds and some plays that he made that were great," Johnson said. "If we didnt have him, we wouldnt have won." Delon Wright made a pair of free throws to cut it to 62-60, but threw the ball away with 33.9 seconds left. Johnson and T.J. McConnell each made free throws to help secure the victory. The Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Pac-12) beat Utah for the ninth straight time since a loss to the Utes in the 1998 NCAA tournament. Arizona also held onto sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, one game ahead of UCLA. Taylor had 13 points and Wright and Dallin Bachynski each scored 12 for the Utes (17-9, 6-8), who lost at home for the second time this season. Utah last beat Arizona at home in 1985. The Utes fell short despite outrebounding the Wildcats 37-31 and finishing with a 34-23 edge in the paint. "It was a classic game and one of the things I was most proud of is the fact that we came back," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We built that deficit against a really good basketball team and (then) put a little different lineup on the floor and went small. I thought some of our young kids gave us a great lift and we got more aggressive. We got to the free throw line." Arizona started strong, makking its first four field goal attempts and taking a 9-8 lead.
Cheap San Diego Chargers Jersey. Utah kept pace by hitting seven of its first 10 shots from the field. Princeton Onwas stole the ball from Hollis-Jefferson and dunked it on the other end to cap a 6-0 spurt. Arizona went on a 14-0 run later in the half. York capped the surge by hitting a 3-pointer and then taking his own steal from Taylor in for a layup, giving the Wildcats a 25-16 lead. "Thats what he can do," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "He made some timely shots. One of the big reasons we went in the half with a lead was because of his offence." Utah briefly trimmed the deficit to five after baskets from Taylor and Bachynski. Arizona quickly answered, pushing the lead to double digits with 3s from York and Hollis-Jefferson that made it 35-24. The Utes cut it to single digits again when Onwas took another steal in for a dunk to make it 35-26. Arizona had a chance to take a 12-point lead into the locker room when Jordin Mayes nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the officials waved it off during halftime. Utah cut the lead to 40-33 when Taylor stole the ball from Johnson and took it in for a layup. The Wildcats thwarted the rally for a time, going back up by 12 on McConnells jumper. But the Utes ripped off a 10-2 run to get back into the game. A pair of big baskets from freshman Ahmad Fields cut the deficit to 48-44. Arizona endured a short cold spell after a layup from McConnell made it 52-44 with 6:41 left, going 3:13 without a field goal. The Wildcats also had to finish the game without star forward Aaron Gordon after he fouled out with 8:41 left in the second half. Utah took advantage with an 11-2 run and went ahead 55-54 on a runner from Jordan Loveridge with 3:09 remaining. Arizona regained a one-point lead on Johnsons jumper with 2:21 left. Utah tied it when Loveridge made one of two free throws with 28 seconds to go. McConnell had a chance to win it for the Wildcats in regulation, but missed a runner in the lane as time expired. Arizona made sure its second chance to win in overtime didnt slip away. "At some points, we werent playing smart basketball," McConnell said. "But at the end we did and thats what matters most."
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