Events (auf Funorb) » the best and worst calls of the week,

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- This hurts, but its not the writhing, seething pain he felt a year ago at St. Andrews, where Jason Day wondered if it was ever going to happen for him in a major championship.There at the home of golf, Day let an excellent opportunity slip away over the closing holes, missing a playoff by one excruciating shot, the doubts surrounding him growing darker and deeper as he left The Open.Here, another opportunity presented itself at the PGA Championship, and Day again came up a shot short of a playoff, having to watch from the 18th green at Baltusrol Golf Club as Jimmy Walker holed the winning par putt, defenseless to do anything.But this loss was different.The PGA Championship he won a year ago at Whistling Straits helped alleviate a lot of the angst. So did all the success that followed and led him to being the No. 1-ranked player in the world. He has a major, and that can never be taken away.And then theres the way he played here at Baltusrol, shooting four rounds in the 60s, eagling the final hole to make it interesting, rebounding from two early bogeys in the final round to shoot 67. Day finished 13 under par.It is kind of difficult to beat yourself up over that.Im a little disappointed, but you know what? At the end of the day, I came in here with not the greatest preparation, Day said. Im very, very happy with how I played all week.Day, 28, now has four runner-up finishes in majors and 13 top-10s. It is an impressive record, no doubt, and hes still on track for a PGA Tour player of the year award after three wins, including a World Golf Championship event and the Players Championship.Perhaps at some other time he will rue all the close calls. A second major championship is crucial, if being considered among the greats of the game is part of Days ultimate plan.Phil Mickelson has often spoke about how important winning the PGA was here in 2005. It was his second major victory, following his breakthrough at the Masters in 2004. Mickelson also said he would win multiple majors, and that one at Baltusrol sent him on his way, as he won the Masters the following spring and nearly the U.S. Open after that. Now hes in the Hall of Fame with five wins at majors.Like others, Day could point to the unrelenting schedule this year, made necessary by golfs return to the Olympic Games. Just two weeks ago, he was competing in Scotland, and although he didnt contend at The Open, he was there for four days. From Scotland, he headed to Toronto to defend his title at the Canadian Open. Then he came to New Jersey for the PGA Championship.An early-week cold left him feeling lethargic and in need of rest, so he didnt get onto the course for a practice round until Wednesday. Day wasnt making any excuses, but clearly thats not the ideal way to go into a major championship. Walker, for his part, missed the cut at Royal Troon and didnt play last week. Maybe that was the difference at Baltusrol?I think they all hurt, said Colin Swatton, Days long-time caddie and coach. But its not like he went out and shot 75. Hes won three times, second in a major. Its one of those days where he gave it a go and someone else plays a bit better and gets the job done.The circumstances surrounding the weather and the way the final two rounds unfolded also did not help Day.When play was suspended on Saturday with the leaders never getting on the course, the decision was made to keep the same pairings throughout the third and fourth rounds, in order to speed up play and attempt to get the tournament finished Sunday -- which unfolded better than could have been expected.But had the situation been normal, Days third-round 67 would have put him in a final pairing with Walker, who had his own issues to deal with in trying to win his first major.Yes, that would have been nice, Day said. It would have been nice to play in the last group with him, just to be able to go back and forth with him, maybe put a little bit more pressure on him, because usually that becomes a match play format, where youre going back and forth. More mistakes or crucial moments can happen in situations like that.Day wasnt complaining. He understood exactly why it played out as it did. And he was gracious in defeat, waiting beside the green to congratulate Walker and his family.So Day wont be losing any sleep.In fact, he expected to sleep quite well, given the level of exhaustion that came with a grueling final day that ended up being one shot too many. Cheap Wholesale Air Max 97 . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Cheap Air Max 97 Sale . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. http://www.wholesaleairmax97.com/ . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Nike Air Max 97 China Wholesale . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Discount Air Max 9 . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina lawmakers took steps Thursday to set aside a half-million dollars for the legal defense of a law limiting protections for LGBT people as a judge sought to streamline a cluster of lawsuits it has inspired.Republican lawmakers were mapping out the end of the session, including possible changes to the law known as House Bill 2, which has attracted high-profile critics including the NBA. The session could end this weekend.But there was no appetite to change the provision requiring transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate in schools, universities and many other public buildings. The law also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide anti-discrimination protections.Pressure to change the law has come from several quarters including NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said earlier this month that there needed to be progress on changing the law this summer to ensure the league keeps its 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.The league issued a joint statement late Thursday with the Charlotte Hornets saying they were doubtful that proposed changes would go far enough.We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature, the statement said.Legislative leaders were weighing possible adjustments, while trying to determine whether theres enough support to get the legislation to Gov. Pat McCrorys desk. McCrory has urged lawmakers to repeal a provision preventing workers from using state law to sue over workplace discrimination.The governor has been public in what he has asked us to look at, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said Thursday. We are reviewing those matters and its just still in discussion.Moore confirmed other changes are being considered but he declined to elaborate.The Senate also approved a plan to give McCrorys office $500,000 to defend the law in court, by transferring money from a disaster relief fund. The measure still must pass the House.Entertainers including Bruce Springsteen canceled concerts to protest the law, while scores of business leaders signed a letter seeking its repeal. Rallies to support the law, meanwhile, drew thoussands of conservatives to Raleigh.ddddddddddddOther legislators have said possible changes include increasing criminal penalties for people who commit sexual assaults in bathrooms and locker rooms. There also could be dispensations for transgender people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery but were born in the few states where the sex on a birth certificate cant be changed.Gay rights advocates held a news conference to say nothing short of the laws repeal would suffice.There is only one fix for H.B. 2, and its full and total repeal, said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. If they choose not to and Gov. McCrory and his political cronies run out the clock on this short session, they wont be able to outrun the voters of this state in November.McCrory discussed the law privately with Democratic legislators at the Executive Mansion.Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, described the discussion as candid. But he said Democrats remained concerned that proposed changes dont fix fundamental problems with the law.A spokesman for McCrorys re-election campaign, Ricky Diaz, later said in an email: Any Democrat standing with the Human Rights Campaign and other out-of-state liberal interest groups by refusing any compromise is attempting to drive the NBA All-Star Game from North Carolina.Transgender residents and the U.S. Department of Justice have challenged the law in court, while McCrory, legislative leaders and a citizen group filed lawsuits to defend it. Legislative leaders will have their own legal expenses after filing a lawsuit separate from the governors.Federal Judge Louise Wood Flanagan, who was overseeing lawsuits by the legislative leaders and citizens group, on Wednesday ordered that they be sent to another federal court hearing separate challenges to the law. Her move increased the likelihood that at least four of the five cases will end up before one judge. It also denied efforts to consolidate the two cases with the lawsuit filed by McCrory before a different judge.The risk of inconsistent adjudication is high and the relative expense of multiple proceedings, as compared to a single proceeding, is plain, Flanagan wrote. ' ' '