2011 Valero Texas Open PGA Tour Preview

Golf (gctsports.blogspot.com) - Kuala Lumpur, 4 April 2011 – The 50th edition of the Malaysian Open will witness the most impressive field of champions that will compete from the 14-17 April at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. This year’s edition has received numerous entries from world renowned golfers and due to the overwhelming response, audiences are in for a treat as they watch the top players from both the European and Asian Tours battle it out for a cool USD2.5 million prize purse.

Entries for the Maybank Malaysian Open closed on the 31st of March 2011 and the tournament has received confirmation from four Major Champions; these are World No. 1 Martin Kaymer, 2004 Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton, 2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen and 2005 US Open Championship winner Michael Campbell. Other names that have confirmed their participation this year include Matteo Manassero, John Parry, Andrew Dodt, Soren Kjeldsen, Pablo Martin, Rhys Davies, Thongchai Jaidee, Noh Seung-yul, and Marcus Fraser to name a few.

In addition to these, Maybank also announced the inclusion of four wildcard picks - Joakim Haeggman, Matthew Nixon and Alexandre Kaleka from The European Tour; and Asian Tour’s Boonchu Ruangkit – who will join the battle on the greens of the 50th Edition of the Malaysian Open.

“Golf has grown at a phenomenal rate in Malaysia over the past half century – and indeed since the historic 1999 Malaysian Open which was the first co-sanctioned tournament between The European Tour and the Asian Tour – so it is always with great pleasure that our Members return to this enchanting country to help further this development while testing their own games. The strength of the field which will assemble at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country in two weeks time is testament to the stature of the tournament and the eventual winner will join an illustrious Roll of Honour,” said George O’Grady CBE, Chief Executive of The European Tour.

There is a reason the PGA chose this tournament to follow the greatest golf event of the year, The Masters. The event does everything big and the fans come out in droves for this tournament. The event will be well attended and the fans will bring a different flavor to this distinctly unique PGA event.

Zach Johnson won the two previous Valero Texas Opens before Adam Scott took home the trophy in 2010. Johnson may not be the biggest the banger off the tee but Johnson is one of the most accurate PGA golfers off the tee. Another critical category in which Johnson excels is his ability to scramble after a poor shot.

One golfer that has fallen on hard times but has performed well in this event is Justin Leonard. He will have a chip on his shoulder since he did not qualify for The Masters and he will be a fun long shot to watch if he makes the cut. In online betting sports picks, look for the golf betting odds for this tournament.

Read more...

Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars : Game Recap

Hockey (gctsports.blogspot.com) - Here you will get Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars game re cup news Minnesota Wild 5 – 3 Dallas Stars. For Dallas perspective, please visit Defending Big D. You're welcome Chicago. Todd Richards said it best tonight, it's a “bitter sweet feeling.” The game was as intense and as fun a game to watch as.

Todd Richards said it best tonight, it's a "bitter sweet feeling." The game was as intense and as fun a game to watch as there has been all year. Richards called it "Game 7 for Dallas," and the fans at the X made it feel like one, too. As loud as this place has ever been, you would have thought the Wild were the ones playing to make the dance. Instead, the Wild win, send the Blackhawks to Vancouver, and the fans finally got the show they deserved all year.

This wasn't an easy one on anyone. The Wild did not dominate the game, and Dallas put up an impressive fight. At every turn, though, the Wild battled back. Down 2-1, they scored two and leave the second period tied. They fight through the third period and finally take a 4-3 lead, and locked down the defense a little bit. The empty netter was an exclamation point from Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and believe me, the fans celebrated it like a Cup-clincher.

I'm really proud of those guys. They just battled their tails off," Crawford said. "They kept giving forth the effort, and you look at it coming down the stretch: Nobody gave us much of a chance.

Daley ignited a three-goal flurry over a 1:31 span in the second period, Kari Lehtonen made 14 saves for his 15th career shutout, and the Stars continued their home dominance over the Minnesota Wild with a 4-0 victory on Friday night.

Tom Wandell and Mike Ribeiro added second-period goals for the Stars, 6-0-2 in their last eight games.

Jamie Benn scored a goal in his sixth consecutive game to help Dallas move to fourth in the Western Conference playoff race with 82 points.

The Stars watched the Blackhawks lose at home to Detroit as a team, and the mood as they prepared to take the ice was "euphoric" and "excited," according to coach Marc Crawford.

Though the Stars weren't consistently sharp with the puck and they managed only three shots on goal in the second period, their energetic stretches led to plenty of quality scoring chances. Dallas was on a four-game winning streak, in position to catch Chicago and win the head-to-head tiebreaker after looking all but finished a week and a half ago.

Read more...