handed Warriors needing help from someone --

NORTON, Mass. -- One week into the Ryder Cup auditions for the captains picks, Davis Love III should have no trouble identifying the hot player.Trouble is, Rory McIlroy plays for the other team.The Deutsche Bank Championship, where McIlroy rediscovered his putting stroke, was the first of two big tournaments that essentially allow Love and the Americans to buy time so they can decide how to use three captains picks that will be announced Monday.Love will get a fourth pick after the FedEx Cup ends on Sept. 25, presumably before the boarding door closes on the flight to Hazeltine.But is this really an audition?Not according to Phil Mickelson, the senior member of the U.S. team who serves on the Ryder Cup Task Force.I think the picks are fairly obvious, Mickelson said before the first shot was struck at the TPC Boston. If theyre not, or if we get a guy like Billy Horschel who just gets a hot hand and we need that hot hand to give us the best chance to win, then we have that option. For the most part, I think its fairly obvious who the picks would be without even naming them.Maybe its obvious to Mickelson, and perhaps to Love.But not to everyone.I cant name them, either, said Steve Stricker, an assistant captain and task force member. I dont know who they are, I swear. I could put five guys down that are obvious. I dont think I could do three.Matt Kuchar would seem logical. He finished 12th in the standings, has the right game for match play because he is rarely out of position, and he likely played his way onto the team with that 63 on the final day to win the bronze medal at the Olympics.Rickie Fowler makes sense, even though he has never won a match in two Ryder Cup appearances. Fowler is well-liked, he paired nicely with PGA champion Jimmy Walker at Gleneagles and tied for seventh at The Barclays in the final qualifying event. Then again, he squandered a chance to play his way onto the team at Bethpage Black by making a mess of the last four holes. He wound up 11th in points.After that, the obvious becomes opinions.Bubba Watson finished at No. 9 in the standings and he is No. 7 in the world. However, the two-time Masters champion hasnt had a top 10 on the PGA Tour in six months. Jim Furyk is under consideration, mainly because he finished at No. 15 in the standings despite missing four months at the start of the year to recover from wrist surgery. He also shot 58. But he didnt make it beyond the second stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs.J.B. Holmes was No. 10 in the standings. Holmes is a power player and one of the few active Americans to have never been on a losing Ryder Cup team. His only appearance was in 2008 at Valhalla. He went 2-0-1.Thats five options, and there might be more.But lets say the initial three captains picks really are obvious.Why wait?Europe filled out its team with three captains picks last Tuesday, two days after qualifying ended. Too soon? It might look that way with Alex Noren winning in Switzerland and moving up to No. 27 in the world. At least it has a team of 12 for a month leading to the opening shot on Sept. 30.The Americans wont have a full team until they arrive at Hazeltine.They were giddy about their trip to Gillette Stadium last week, even though only two-thirds of the team was there. It led to one awkward moment when someone asked Kuchar how he liked the home of the New England Patriots and the speech from 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey captain Mike Eruzione. Kuchar wasnt there. Neither was Fowler. Or the other obvious pick.As for the final pick, Love is thrilled with the idea that someone could get hot and reach the Tour Championship and have a shot at winning the FedEx Cup and I get to pick him on Sunday night.That sounds great, as long as its the right guy who wins.Of the 70 players moving on to Indiana for the third playoff event, eight are Americans who have never won a PGA Tour event and, according to Love, still on his radar.Love asked a question in New York last week that he couldnt answer, and neither can anyone else.Is it easier for that guy to stay hot -- or for that other guy to get hot? he said.The Americans are looking for any edge they can find. Its hard to blame them since they have only won the Ryder Cup twice since 1995. But would it take anything away from the Ryder Cup if both teams had the same qualifying system? Start it one year out, take 11 players and give the captains one wild-card pick.And then go play.Because golf is supposed to be a sport that rewards a good score, not a good relationship. Wholesale Basketball Shoes . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Wholesale Kobe Bryant Shoes . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.cheapbasketballshoeswholesale.com/lebron-james-shoes-clearance.html . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Cheap Kevin Durant Shoes . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Kevin Durant Shoes Wholesale . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. PITTSBURGH -- After seeing rookie Jameson Taillon and newcomer Ivan Nova put together gems the previous two nights against the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates hoped to get the same from Gerrit Cole.Pittsburghs struggling ace couldnt deliver.Cole went just five innings and the Pirates fell to Houston 5-4 Wednesday, their fifth loss in six games.Cole (7-9) allowed five runs in five innings. He has a 6.07 ERA through five August starts.Ive been trying to look at approaches and maybe see how I can use my stuff better. I thought today there were some good steps in the right direction: some good sliders, some good curveballs for strikes, he said.Miss over the plate, and Im getting punished. Thats the bottom line, he said.Trailing 5-1 entering the fifth, Pittsburgh scored twice in the fifth and once more in the seventh. The comeback bid ended as Ken Giles closed the ninth for his fifth save.The Astros won the interleague matchup between wild-card contenders for their fifth victory in six games. Houston finished 5-2 on its road trip that began in Baltimore.Evan Gattis hit his 20th home run and Carlos Correa got two hits and scored twice, helping Collin McHugh earn his first win since July 23. McHugh (8-10) gave up three runs in five innings, ending an 0-4 rut in his last five starts.Gattis homered in the second, connecting after a single by Correa.Correa reached on an infield single in the fourth and scored on a triple by Marwin Gonzalez.George Springer singled to begin the fifth and Alex Bregman followed with a double, setting up sacrifice flies by Jose Altuve and Correa for a 5-1 lead.Pirates managger Clint Hurdle said Coles inconsistency has led to his recent dip in performance.ddddddddddddI hate to sound simplistic. The overall command is coming and going, Hurdle said. Thats just the way its been. . Some balls elevated in the middle of the plate. Then you see some sequences that are sharp. Were not getting the balls in the area we want to get it often enough or with consistency to minimize opportunities to score.Jordy Mercer homered in the Pittsburgh third.The Pirates closed to 5-3 in the fifth on RBI singles by Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.Polanco, who hit two home runs Tuesday, tripled home Marte in the seventh.Hes continued to find a way to plate runs for us. Using all of the field, doing some nice things, Hurdle said. It speaks to his mentality to hit the ball hard where its pitched. Hes not just up there trying to yank or drill something into the water. Hes up there trying to do some damage, trying to hit the ball hard and hes been doing it quite frequently lately. Hes been hitting it hard where it has been pitched.UP NEXTAstros: Following a day off, Houston will begin a three-game series at home against Tampa Bay on Friday. After allowing one run through seven innings in his last outing, RHP Mike Fiers (9-6, 4.48) will try to repeat that performance against Tampa Bay.Pirates: Will travel to Milwaukee for the start of a four-game series against the Brewers on Thursday. RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 3.62) will look to bounce back from his first major league loss. ' ' '