|
LAS VEGAS, Nev. Aaron Hill Diamondbacks Jersey . - Phil Macks penalty kick with no time remaining completed a remarkable comeback Sunday as Canada defeated Samoa 22-19 to finish third at the USA Sevens — its best ever finish at an IRB Sevens rugby event. Down 19-0 early in the second half, the Canadian men reeled off 22 straight points to secure the win. "It showed a lot of character," said Canadian coach Geraint John. "The players at halftime were composed. Everybody was composed. We knew what we had to do and they executed. "Thats what I liked about the whole weekend. When we executed I thought we were a very very good side and we showed that we deserved to be in that top bracket. Now the hardest part is weve got to continue and move on from here." Canada stood 13th in the standings after the first three stops on the nine-event HSBC Sevens World Series. But it showed grit throughout the three-day tournament at Sam Boyd Stadium, staging one rally after another, and moved up to 11th spot. It marked the first time since 2000 and only the second time in IRB Sevens play that Canada had reached the semifinals of the top-tier Cup competition. South Africa, appearing in its third straight final, beat New Zealand 14-7 to win its second tournament. The Springboks downed the All Blacks 17-14 last time out in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The victory moved South Africa ahead of New Zealand atop the series standings. England held on to edge Australia 26-24 in the consolation Plate final and place fifth. Fiji finished ninth in thumping Kenya 35-0 in the Bowl final and the host U.S. blanked Spain 31-0 to win the Shield and finish 13th. Going into the third-place game, Samoa had gone 31-3 against Canada in past matches. And the Pacific Islanders were rampant early on as Fomai Ah Ki scored two tries to give the two-time tournament champions a 12-0 lead at the half. Reupena Levasa scored soon after the restart to extend the Samoan lead to 19-0. Then the Canadian comeback began. Conor Trainors try cut the deficit to 19-7 before captain John Moonlight bulled his way over the goal-line to make it 19-14. Mack then crossed the line in the corner only to see his conversion attempt hit the post, leaving it knotted at 19-19 with 30 seconds remaining. Mack completed the comeback, slotting his drop goal through the posts after Samoa was penalized some 20 metres in front of its posts as time ran out. Mack finished with 12 points on a try, penalty and two conversions. "Once we got that roll going in the beginning of the second half, I dont think there was really any stopping us," said John. The fine Canadian showing came despite a string of injuries that kept captain Nathan Hirayama, Sean Duke, Ciaran Hearn, Mike Fuailefau, Lucas Hammond, Adam Kleeberger and Pat Parfrey out of the lineup. Canada opened the day with a 26-7 loss to New Zealand in the Cup semifinal. The semifinal against New Zealand was a tough ask for Canada. The All Blacks career record against Canada was 23-0 going into the game, with New Zealand outscoring the Canadians 726-151. Canada got a break with suspensions to New Zealands George Tilsley (one match) and Sam Dickson (eight) for foul play in its last pool match against Fiji. The underdog Canadians opened the scoring against New Zealand with a converted Mack try after an attack by Moonlight. But the All Blacks, capitalizing on Canadian defensive mistakes, responded with a try by Scott Curry before Bryce Heem scored on the stroke of halftime for a 2-7 lead. New Zealand continued to dominate possession in the second half and the Canadians found themselves on the back foot after Australian referee Matt OBrien called a string of penalties at the breakdown. Tim Mikkelson and Heem added New Zealand tries to make the final score 26-7, with Gillies Kaka adding three conversions. "Theyre a good team," New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said of Canada. "A tough semifinal." On Saturday, Canada rallied from 14-0 down to beat France 17-14 in the Cup quarter-final after recovering from a 12-0 deficit to defeat Wales 21-19. On Friday, Canada downed Kenya 17-15 and lost to South Africa 29-0. A Canadian womens development side called the Maple Leafs defeated the Aptoella Angels 17-5 to win the companion Las Vegas Invitational tournament. Paul Goldschmidt Jersey . - Adam Scott didnt have to look as far down the leaderboard to find players who suddenly are a real threat to win at Bay Hill. Paul Goldschmidt Diamondbacks Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson know exactly whats at stake Sunday at Mission Hills -- for themselves and the attention-starved LPGA Tour. "I think its great for the tour and its going to be a lot of fun," Wie said Saturday after tying Thompson for the third-round lead in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. "I think Lexi is a really entertaining golfer. I like to think Im somewhat entertaining as well. So, I think the both of us paired together is great." Theyre each trying to win their first major title, a victory that would be a big boost to the tour that felt slighted and upstaged this week when Golf Digest put model Paulina Gretzky on its cover after long ignoring the top female players. "I know people will be really excited about tomorrows pairing, but Im not really going to worry about it," Thompson said. "Im just going to go out and have fun." The 24-year-old Wie shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 to match the 19-year-old Thompson at 10-under 206. The popular Americans were teammates last year in the Solheim Cup. "I really like Lexi," Wie said. "I think shes a really good girl." The two 6-footers are power players, though Wie has sacrificed some distance for control and has been hitting low-flying 3-wood stingers off a lot of tees. "Thats kind of always been in my bag," Wie said. "Kind of reintroduced it back into my game the last couple of months. Its just something that Ive always felt comfortable doing and Ive played well on this golf course." Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls, Ont., topped the amateur leaderboard with a 2-under 70. The 16-year-old is in 19th spot at 1-under for the tournament. Thompson, already a three-time winner on the tour, settled for a 69 after missing a 3-foot par putt on the par-5 18th. She also missed two short birdie putts on the front nine. "Im getting looks at birdies and just waiting for a few more to drop," Thompson said. Charley Hull, the Englishwoman who turned 18 last month, was two strokes back along with five-time major champion Se Ri Pak. Hull birdied the 18th for a 66, the best round of the day. Pak shot 71. Both leaders said they were nervous. "I probably wont sleep that well," Wie said. "Its just the chance. You want something so badly. I dreamed about this all my life, so Im just trying to not think about it so much. Im just trying to think its a normal Sunday. ... But I think thats a good thing. Its a sign that Im really excited and I really waant this. Patrick Corbin Diamondbacks Jersey. " Thompson agreed. "But its a good nervous," Thompson said. "This is what Ive been waiting for and what Ive worked my whole life for." Wie is making her 12th start in the tournament. She was ninth in 2003 at age 13, fourth the following year and tied for third at 16 in 2006. She also was sixth in 2011. "I just go out there and I think I just really know what I need to do," Wie said. "I think that came with experience of playing so many rounds in my life." Wie has two victories, winning the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico and the 2010 Canadian Womens Open. She has been in the top 16 in all five of her starts this year, finishing a season-best fourth in Thailand. On Saturday, she birdied four of the first 11 holes and parred the last seven, leaving an 8-foot birdie putt short on 18. "Im really happy that with my placement," Wie said. Thompson struggled with her putting after a great day on the greens Friday in a bogey-free 64. She missed a 2 1/2-foot try on No. 4 and a 4-footer on No. 7. "I would say I had a few mis-reads," Thompson said. On 18, she drove close to the face of a right-side bunker and blasted out, leaving her 145 yards on the water-guarded hole that she would normally reach in two. Her approach went long and right, and her 80-foot birdie putt broke about 15 feet right to left, setting up the short par miss that cost her the outright lead and ended her bogey-free streak at 36 holes. "Not the ending I wanted," Thompson said. Hull birdied six of the last holes. She played in the Solheim Cup last year and won her first pro title last month in Morocco in a Ladies European Tour event. "I hit it quite well," Hull said. "My irons were pretty good and I hit some good drives. When I got myself in trouble, I was able to get out of it. Im pretty happy." Hull turned 18 on March 20 and could become the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history. Morgan Pressel set the record at Mission Hills in 2007, winning at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days. "It would be the best feeling ever," Hull said. Pak birdied the par-4 16th after bogeying three of the first six holes on the back nine. The 36-year-old South Korean player won the last of her five major titles in 2006 and the last of her 25 LPGA Tour victories in 2010. "Theres nothing to complain about it," Pak said. "Of course, I mis-hit it there a little bit, but that will happen on this golf course." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
