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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- There was a time around here when Phil Mickelsons nerves were stretched so tight, you could bounce a quarter off em and have it land in Atlanta. That was exactly 10 years, five majors and three green jackets ago. He arrived that week 0 for 42 in the tournaments that matter and left as one of the most contented men on the planet. Back at the scene of that first major win for his interview session Tuesday, Mickelson was charming and so much the master of his domain you half-expected him to wade into the gathering of reporters and pull that same quarter out from behind someones ear. Now 43, Lefty was at ease, deftly tucking many of those reporters first names into his answers and lavishing praise on the conditions at Augusta National and even long-time rival Tiger Woods, who will miss his first Masters in 20 years while recovering from back surgery. "Its a weird feeling not having him here, isnt it?" Mickelson said, unbidden. Then again, he could afford to be gracious. Mickelson sat down at the podium fresh off a big win in one of those high-stakes practice rounds for which hes become notorious "Curious on practice rounds," a reporter said. "Watching former champions going out with younger players, youve done that in the past, and the mentoring that goes on in the early part of this week. Just curious the extent that you do that now as a past champion." "Yeah, mentoring or wagering," Mickelson said to laughter. "Either way you want to look at it. "Rickie Fowler and I were partners today and he went on a tear. He shot 30 the front nine; he eagled 13, he birdied 17 and 18, threw another one on 15, I think. Just played remarkable golf. It was fun," Mickelson added, "to have him as my partner." "Speaking of wagering," another reporter asked a few moments later, "I head you lost a dollar to a patron behind the sixth green; couldnt get up and down. Is that right?" Mickelson tried not to blush. "He was mouthing off about hard shot, get this up and down, no chance, blah, blah, blah. And it wasnt that hard a shot, and I should have gotten it up and down and I did hit a good shot. I had a 7-footer straight uphill and I missed it, and I had to pay him," he said. "Thats what happens when you lose." "Do you always carry small bills?" came the follow-up. "Did he have change?" "I had to get a five from a caddie," Mickelson replied, trying harder not to blush. "I dont." The longer he goes on spinning tales that are insightful or funny -- and sometimes both -- the more Mickelson sounds like one of the games elder statesmen. But unlike Jack Nicklaus, 74, and Arnold Palmer, 84, who reminisced about his last major win 50 years ago, Mickelson is still a very real threat to win every time he tees it up. Hes still ranked No. 5 in the world, but hasnt had a top-10 finish this season and his last win was last summers almost magical victory at the British Open. More problematic, perhaps, Mickelson has been hobbled by back and muscle injuries for months, not pronouncing himself "100 per cent healthy until last week. He even admitted to some nerves "because I always like coming into this week with a win. ... being in contention a few times and having that confidence and experience to build on." But if Mickelson was concerned about his chances, he might have been the only one in the room. "Now that youve won five Majors," came the question, "how cognizant are you of climbing the ladder of historical greats where you have (Lee) Trevino at six, Arnie at seven? Is that something you think about, where you stand in relation to those figures?" "Not really," Mickelson began. "But I do know that Arnold and Tiger have four jackets and I have three. I know Jack has six, but nothing I can do about that right now. Im just trying to get back to where the two ahead of me are." Yet its hard to imagine Mickelson having more fun with yet another green jacket than he did with the previous ones. He slept in it the first night after winning, wore it in the drive-through line at Krispy Kreme one morning, and donned it at dinner more often than a colour-blind waiter. Even though Mickelson could have gone on for hours, the moderator signalled last question "What are your strongest memories of being on 18 10 years ago?" he was asked. "What comes right to mind?" "I jumped so high I almost hit lightning that day," Mickelson replied. "Unfortunately the photographers, they just didnt time it right, so its very, yeah, I felt like that was an unfair assessment of that leap. Because I probably could have dunked a basketball if need be." Steve McNair Jersey .J. -- After getting permission from his 7-year-old daughter, New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl has retired after an 11-year career that included two Super Bowl championships. Kris Durham . San Antonio was out of energy and emotion, which is usually when coach Gregg Popovich turns to Manu Ginobili for a boost. Ginobili is no longer the only player giving the Spurs a jolt of enthusiasm and showmanship off the bench. http://www.shopthetitansonline.com/Elite-Colin-Mccarthy-Titans-Jersey/ . LUCIE, Fla. Shonn Greene Authentic Jersey . The solutions? Not so much. Given an extra week to stew over the worst start in 45 years, Tomlin is tweaking the lineup hoping to find a spark that will help his team begin the long road back to respectability. T.J. Graham Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, but there are changes among those teams in pursuit.ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Nashville Predators finished strong, even if was for naught. The Minnesota Wild are hoping this is only the start. Craig Smith had two goals and two assists, and the Predators used a second-period barrage against goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to beat the playoff-bound Wild 7-3 on Sunday. "Like the last exhibition game before the start of a season, always happy to have that one over with," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. The Wild wrapped up the first wild card spot in the Western Conference earlier in the week and had their first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche set before the game, so there were few motivators other than the maintenance of health and momentum and maybe a statistical milestone or two. Well, all but the momentum was accomplished. No new injuries were reported, and Jason Pominville got his 30th goal. "Obviously it wasnt pretty. It wasnt the way we want to end it and I dont want to make an excuse for it, but I think those things will happen when youre in and the other team is out, playing loose," Pominville said. For the second straight night, Nashville scored seven times. The Predators won 7-5 at Chicago on Saturday. Good way for coach Barry Trotz, the only bench boss the franchise has ever had, to go out if hes not retained. Trotz said he realized this could be his last game with the team. "If I said differently Id be lying," he said. Bryzgalov, though, didnt do himself or the Wild any good with this shaky performance, as meaningless as the game was. Bryzgalov posted back-to-back shutouts in victories over Pittsburgh and Winnipeg on April 5 and 7, but in a win over Boston he gave up three goals on 24 shots in regulation, though he was unscored upon in the shootout. Bryzgalov, acquired from Edmonton for a fourth-round draft pick, has allowed eight goals over the last 45 shots hes faced. John Curry, the fifth goalie used by the Wild this season, replaced him for the third period. Ryan Ellis, Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Smith scored consecutively in the second period to steer Bryzgalov toward the bench at the second intermission. Rich Clune had a goal in the first period, and Calle Jarnkrok and Smith scored in the final frame. Erik Haula, Jason Pominville and Zach Parise scored for the Wild,, who gave up a season-high seven goals.dddddddddddd One of the reasons the Wild were safely in, rather than scrambling to win their last game to qualify as they did last season, was the sturdiness shown by the 33-year-old Bryzgalov down the stretch with their top three goalies unavailable due to injury or illness. This was his first regulation loss in 11 starts — he went 7-1-3 — since arriving the day before the trade deadline. But this was ugly. Yeo didnt flinch, though. "Im not worried about him," the coach said, adding: "You look at tonight, and we were brutal in front of him." The Predators missed the playoffs for a second straight year, putting Trotzs future in question. "Thats not our decision to make. Theres nothing that we could do as players in this locker room. We played our hearts out for him. Hes a great coach and well see what happens," Weber said. Nashville went 9-1-2 in its final 12 games, including eight regulation wins, but finished in 10th place — three points below the cut. The Predators killed every penalty over their previous five games, a streak that ended when Parise scored his 29th goal — he missed 15 games earlier this season — early in the second period to give Bryzgalov and the Wild a 3-1 edge. Nashville also became the only team in the league this season to not allow a short-handed goal, stretching its streak to 99 games without one. "We stuck with it. You always want to go out on a good note," said Smith, who passed Weber for the team lead with 24 goals. Weber had 23 and Patric Hornqvist finished with 22. Weber tallied a career-high 56 points. "If he doesnt win the Norris this year its going to be an absolute crime," Trotz said. NOTES: With 98 points, the Wild matched their second-best record in franchise history. After going 5-14-5 on the road in last seasons lockout-abbreviated schedule, the Predators finished 19-15-7 away from home. ... Pominville became only the third different player in Wild history to hit the 30-goal mark. Marian Gaborik (five times) and Brian Rolston (three times) were the others. ... Clune was called for roughing and cross checking and slapped with a 10-minute misconduct. He finished with 166 penalty minutes this season, fourth-most in the NHL. ' ' '
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