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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Derek Sanderson Jeter born June 26, 1974, is a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who has played his entire career for the New York Yankees. He has served as the Yankees' team captain since 2003. Jeter's presence in the Yankees' lineup, highlighted by his hitting prowess, played an instrumental role in the team's late 1990s dynasty. Jeter debuted in the Major Leagues in 1995, and the following year he won the Rookie of the Year Award and helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series. Jeter was also a member of championship-winning teams in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. In 2000, Jeter became the only player in history to win both the All-Star Game MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. He has been selected as an All-Star eleven times, won the Silver Slugger award four times, and he has won the Gold Glove award on five occasions. He is regarded as a consummate professional, by teammates and opponents alike, and has a reputation as a reliable contributor in the postseason. Jeter is considered to be one of the best players of his generation. He is the all-time hits leader among shortstops[7] and his .317 career batting average through the 2009 season ranks as the fifth-highest among active players. He has been among the American League (AL) leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years. He is the all-time Yankees hit leader, passing Hall of Fame member Lou Gehrig in 2009.

eter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey in 1974. His father, Dr. Sanderson Charles Jeter, a substance abuse counselor, is African American; his mother, Dorothy, is Caucasian and of Irish/German descent. Charles and Dorothy met while serving in the United States Army in Germany. His father played shortstop at Fisk University in Tennessee. Derek has one sister, Sharlee, who is five years younger and was a softball star in high school. The family lived in North Arlington, New Jersey, before moving to Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was four years old. As a child, Jeter and his sister spent summers with their grandparents in New Jersey, who took them to Yankees games, making him a passionate fan of his future team. Jeter was inspired to play baseball by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.[12] In high school, Jeter was a star baseball player at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he also played basketball, earning an All-State honorable mention. Years later in 2003, Jeter was inducted into the Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Jeter had batting averages of .557 as a sophomore and .508 as a junior. As a senior, he batted .508; had 23 runs batted in, 21 walks, four home runs, and 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts); and struck out only once. Jeter collected many awards at season's end, including the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year. Jeter was discovered professionally by Hal Newhouser, who was working for the Houston Astros as a scout. Newhouser advocated his selection with the first pick of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft to Astros' management, convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team. Jeter received a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Michigan, and the speculation was that he would insist on a salary bonus of $1 million or more to sign.

During the 1999 season, Jeter had a confrontation with a teammate. Teammate Chad Curtis, an outspoken Christian, approached him about discussing his faith, but Jeter declined. When Curtis approached Jeter again, he became offended. Later in the season, a mid-game bench-clearing brawl with the Seattle Mariners occurred. After the brawl ended, Jeter was seen engaged in friendly chatter with his good friend (and future Yankee teammate) Alex Rodriguez, who then played for the Mariners. Upon returning to the dugout, Curtis chastized Jeter for being friendly with an opponent during a bench-clearing brawl, which violated an unwritten rule of baseball. After the game, Curtis approached Jeter in the clubhouse, with beat writers present. Jeter commented that this was not an appropriate time for a confrontation. Curtis later apologized. During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a $118.5 million, seven-year contract.[25] Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record, delaying until the acceptance of a $143 million, eight-year contract extension between the Detroit Tigers and Juan González. When that proposed deal fell through, Jeter's tentative deal fell through, and he agreed to a one-year deal for $10 million. Jeter batted .339, with 15 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in 2000. He batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to bat .318 against the Seattle Mariners in the Championship Series and .409, with two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in a five-game series against the New York Mets in the World Series, the first Subway Series since 1956. In 2000, Jeter became the first player ever to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. Jeter became the first Yankee since Yogi Berra, in 1959, to hit a home run in the All Star Game.

The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career; 78 runs batted in; 111 runs scored; and 44 doubles, a career best.[23] During a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox, Jeter made a play that furthered his reputation as a clutch player. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortshop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. In dramatic fashion, he launched himself over the third-base side railing, landing three rows into the left-field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning, and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. The "Dive" was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com. In 2006, Jeter was second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118); was third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381); and was fifth in infield hits. He finished second in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points). Jeter has finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting 6 times in his 11 full seasons through 2006 (including also a third-place finish in 1998). In 2007, Jeter was third in the AL in hits (203), his sixth season and third-consecutive season with 200 hits, tying Lou Gehrig. He was also fourth in both at-bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322). In the field, he was involved in a career-high 104 double plays.

In 2008, Jeter's slugging percentage was .410, his lowest since 1997. One possible cause was a prolonged slump that he suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist. Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped to as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop. Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he went on to break the record off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd. In 2009, Jeter was named #8 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball by a panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards. For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter becoming the leadoff hitter, based on the rationale that Jeter has a higher on base percentage than Damon, but grounds into double plays more often.[36] Jeter batted .334 (third in the AL), with a .406 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases (caught only 5 times), 107 runs scored (in the top 10 in MLB), and 212 hits (second in MLB). On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history.[37] Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.

Despite winning five Gold Glove awards, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus. The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues. Jeter responded to this criticism by saying "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge." Jeter committed 18 errors in 2007, his highest total since finishing with 24 in 2000. After the season, Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman and his staff saw Jeter's defense as an area that needed to be addressed. At the Yankees' request, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. Jeter's Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) improved from worst in the American League for shortstops in 2007 to close to league average in 2008. Two sites that rely on advanced defensive statistics, FanGraphs.com and FieldingBible.com, rated Jeter below middle-of-the-pack status in 2010, despite his receiving his fifth Gold Glove Award that season.[58][59] Jeter — like many players — asserted that many defensive factors cannot be quantified.

Michelle Wie

Michelle Sung Wie was born in October 11, 1989 is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. In 2006, she was named in a Time magazine article as "one of 100 people who shape our world." At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for USGA amateur championship. Wie would also become the youngest winner of the US Women's Amateur public links and the youngest to qualify for a LPGA tour event. Wie turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday, accompanied by an enormous amount of hype and endorsements. Wie was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents were immigrants from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) who came to the United States in the 1980s. Her father, Byung-wook Wie, is a former professor of transportation management at the University of Hawaii. Her mother was South Korea's women's amateur golf champion in 1985 and competed in a Miss Korea pageant. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Sang Kyu Wie, a resident of Jangheung, Jeollanam-do, was an emeritus professor at Seoul National University. When she was born, since both of her parents had been Korean, Wie had been a dual citizen of both the Republic of Korea and the United States automatically. But, the Republic of Korea does not allow dual citizenship after the age of 21. Wie has opted for United States citizenship. Wie graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii in June, 2007. On December 19, 2006, she announced that she would be attending Stanford University where there are family ties. Her paternal grandfather was a visiting professor and an aunt and uncle are both graduates. She enrolled in September, 2007 as a freshman, but as a professional golfer, Wie is not eligible under NCAA rules to play for Stanford's golf team. During her first three years at Stanford, she attended only during the fall and winter quarters, running from late September through mid-March each year. She took leaves of absence during the rest of the year to play professional golf.

Wie began playing golf at the age of four. In 2000, at the age of ten, she became the youngest player ever to qualify for the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Eight years later, Wie's mark was broken by fellow Hawaiian Allisen Corpuz who qualified when she was five months younger than Wie had been when she set the record. In 2001, at the age of 11, she won both the Hawaii State Women’s Stroke Play Championship and the Jennie K. Wilson Women’s Invitational, the oldest and most prestigious women’s amateur tournament in Hawaii. She also advanced into match play at the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. In 2002, she won the Hawaii State Open Women's Division by thirteen shots. She also became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event, the Takefuji Classic held in Wie's home state of Hawaii. While she went on to miss the cut, her record stood for five more years until it was broken in 2007 by 11-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn. At the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship, Wie became the youngest player to make an LPGA cut,. She carded a 66 in the 3rd round, tying the amateur record for a women's major championship and qualifying her to play in the final group of the championship. In June 2003, Wie won the Women's Amateur Public Links tournament, becoming the youngest person ever, male or female, to win a USGA adult event. Later that summer, she made the cut at the US Women's Open when she was still just 13, the youngest player ever to do so. Wie was given a sponsor's exemption to the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, becoming the fourth, and youngest, female to play a PGA Tour event. Her second round score of 68 was the lowest ever by a woman in a PGA Tour event, though she went on to miss the cut in the tournament.

Wie played her first professional event in the 2005 LPGA Samsung World Championship, where she was disqualified from a fourth-place finish for signing an incorrect scorecard. A journalist (Michael Bamberger) reported she had illegally dropped the ball closer to the hole than its original lie the day after she completed her third round. At her other professional event in 2005, the Casio World Open on the Japan Golf Tour, Wie shot four over par to miss the cut. 2006 started with the PGA Tour Sony Open at her home course, the Waialae Country Club, Hawaii where she again missed the cut, this time by four strokes. In the initial Rolex World Golf Rankings in February, 2006, Wie was placed third behind Annika Sörenstam and Paula Creamer. She rose to second place in July but her limited schedule meant she failed to play the minimum of 15 worldwide professional women's tournaments over a twenty-four month period and she was dropped from the rankings entirely. In August, 2006, the calculation of the rankings was revised such that any player who had accumulated points in fewer than 35 tournaments had her ranking calculated as if she had played in 35. After the change, Wie's ranking dropped to 7th. In her first two tournaments on the LPGA Tour in early 2006, Wie gained a third place finish in the Fields Open in Hawaii, finishing one stroke off the lead, and finished in a tie for third in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, finishing one stroke behind, again. May, 2006, saw her play the Asian Tour SK Telecom Open, becoming the second woman (after Se Ri Pak) to make the cut at a men's tournament in South Korea. Wie reportedly received US$700,000 in appearance fees at an event that offered only US$600,000 in total prize money. In all, she reportedly netted US$5 million in appearance and endorsement money for the two-week trip.

In June Wie played in Maryland at a sectional qualifier for the 2008 U.S. Women's Open. She finished in second place, earning one of the 35 qualification spots available.[46] She shot an eight-over-par 81 in the first round of 2008 U.S. Women's Open and ended up with a 10-over total of 156, missing the cut. July saw Wie playing on a sponsor exemption at the LPGA State Farm Classic. She was in the middle of her third round when it was realized she had failed to sign her second round scorecard. Event organizers waited until the conclusion of that round to notify her that she was disqualified in order to give her an opportunity to explain what had happened. She was one stroke off the lead at the time. Two days later Wie announced that she had accepted an invitation to play her eighth PGA Tour event in the alternate field Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. She shot rounds of 73 and 80, missing the cut by nine strokes. Wie had expressed her desire to attempt to earn membership on the LPGA Tour for the 2009 season by earning the equivalent of 80th place on the 2008 money list through her earnings at the events she played in through sponsor exemptions. When she failed to reach this goal, she entered an LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament. At the tournament, held from September 16 through 19 at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, she finished tied for 4th place. This was sufficient to advance her to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament held in Daytona Beach, Florida in December, 2008. During the Final Qualifying Tournament, Wie finished in a tie for 7th place to make her eligible to play full time on the LPGA Tour in 2009.

After passing LPGA Qualifying School in December 2008, Wie declared that she still planned to play in tournaments against men. However for the second consecutive year, she did not receive a sponsor exemption to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii where she had played four years in a row from 2004 through 2007. Her first tournament as an LPGA member was the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay where she shot 66, 70 to move into a tie with Angela Stanford going into the final round of the tournament. Wie held a three-stroke lead with eight holes remaining, but ended up losing to Stanford by three strokes. It was reported in early March, 2009, that Wie had left the William Morris Agency, the Hollywood talent agency that had represented her since she turned pro in 2005, and would be signing with sports agency IMG. In Wie's next two tournaments, the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International and the Kraft Nabisco Championship, she struggled to make the cut, finishing on the cut line after the second round both times. She finished tied for 57th and 67th respectively in the two events. In the Kraft Nabisco, a major on the LPGA Tour, she shot a score of 81 in both the second and third rounds. In mid-April, Wie traveled to Korea to play in a LPGA of Korea event, the Lotte Mart Open, for the first time. She finished tied for 36, earning $1,536. She spent the next two months playing in every available LPGA tournament, with results ranging from a tie for 3rd at the Sybase Classic to a tie for 54th at the State Farm Classic, the same event at which she was disqualified in 2008 for failing to sign her scorecard. At the second major of the year, the LPGA Championship, she finished tied for 23rd, her best finish in a major since 2006. During this tournament she also scored her first recorded hole-in-one as a professional.

The day after the end of the LPGA Championship, Wie participated in a sectional qualifying tournament for the 2009 U.S. Women's Open to be held during the first week in July. She joined 110 players at the Rockville, Maryland site, one of several sites around the country set up for qualifying purposes on that day. Wie missed qualifying after shoot rounds of 70 and 74. In August, at Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove, Illinois, Wie was a captain's pick for the United States team in Solheim Cup competition. She finished the tournament with a 3-0-1 performance in four matches. On November 15, 2009, Wie won her first professional individual tournament, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, a limited field event on the LPGA Tour, posting a score of thirteen under par 275 for a two-stroke margin over fellow American Paula Creamer, and besting Jiyai Shin, Christie Kerr and Morgan Pressel by two strokes. It was Wie's 81st professional tournament and her 66th LPGA Tour event. She then finished second in the Ladies European Tour season-ending Dubai Ladies Masters tournament on December 9–12, 2009, shooting a 15-under-par 273, which put her three shots behind winner In Kyung Kim. On August 29, 2010, she posted a three-shot win over a full field at the CN Canadian Women's Open, held at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for her second career professional victory. In her next LPGA event, she finished second in the 54-hole P&G NW Arkansas Championship two weeks later, shooting 201 (-12) but losing to Yani Tseng by one stroke after giving up an overnight three-stroke lead.

Jim Furyk

James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer, 2010 FedEx Cup champion, and 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year. Furyk is known for consistently playing at the top level and for a visibly unconventional, looping golf swing. Due to his ability to perform at such a high level despite that swing, his devoted fan base has given him the nickname "The Grinder". In September 2006 he reached a career high of second in the Official World Golf Rankings. He ranked in the top-10 for over 350 weeks between 1999 and 2010. Furyk was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. At that time, his father Mike was an assistant pro at Edgmont Country Club and later also spent time as a pro at West Chester Golf and Country Club as well as Hidden Springs Golf Course in Horsham. His early years were spent in the Pittsburgh suburbs learning the game from his father, who was head pro at Uniontown Country Club near Pittsburgh. He graduated from Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1988 where he was a standout basketball player in addition to being a state champion golfer. He attended the University of Arizona and turned professional in 1992. Furyk won at least one tournament each year on the PGA Tour between 1998 and 2003. At the time, this was the second best streak of winning seasons behind Tiger Woods and he made the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings. Furyk's biggest win to date came on June 16, 2003, when he tied the record for the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Open history to win his first major championship.

In 2004 he only played in fourteen events after missing three months due to surgery to repair cartilage damage in his wrist and he fell out of the top hundred on the money list, but he returned to good form in 2005 and regained his top ten ranking, winning a PGA Tour event in that year and two in 2006. In the 2006 season, he finished a career-high second on the money list and won the Vardon Trophy for the first time. He also had a career-best thirteen top-10 finishes, including nine top-3s, four second-place finishes, and two victories. The only instructor he has ever used is his dad, Mike Furyk, which may account for his unusual swing. His caddy is Mike "Fluff" Cowan, who was Tiger Woods' caddy for Woods' first two years as a professional. During the 2003 Buick Open on-course commentator Mike Hulbert interviewed Furyk from what appeared to be a snack bar during a rain delay while covering the early rounds on USA Network. Other players (who were not visible, nor identified) were in the room at the time of Furyk's interview and proceeded to throw popcorn at them from off camera as the interview progressed. At one point Furyk even held up a golf towel to block the popcorn as it got worse, and he stated that: "It looks like it's 'Pick on Hubby' Day!" 2010 was a banner year for Furyk. After going more than two seasons winless, he won a career-best three tournaments on Tour in 2010: The Transitions Championship, the Verizon Heritage, and the season-ending Tour Championship. Furyk's victory in the Tour Championship also earned him the 2010 FedEx Cup after winning by one stroke. His accomplishments in 2010 won him both the PGA Player of the Year and PGA Tour Player of the Year for the first time.

Jim Furyk's trademark looping golf swing begins with a setup that has the ball at the heel of the club instead of the center, or even out at the toe. This moves his 6'2" frame in so close that his hands are virtually touching his thighs. Most golfers would have a difficult time with a golf club from such a starting point. Compare Furyk's setup to the more textbook setup of Tiger Woods, who begins with his hands 8 inches or so away from his body, a position that promotes a take-away that will put the golf club over his right shoulder at the top, and keep his right elbow tucked against his body. For a human being, this is the classic launch position. Since the beginning of time it has been used to throw a stone, a spear, a baseball, or swing a club. The big muscles of the body—the back, shoulders and thighs—are in control, not the weaker ones in the hands and wrists. The athlete (or hunter in early times) is said to be "loaded." His entire body is poised in the optimum power position. Furyk, by contrast, takes the club away in the manner of a basketball player shooting a hook shot. His arms move back vertically, and at the top his right elbow "flies" away from his body. Tall players tend toward more upright swings. While this manner of beginning doesn't promote power, it is an early step to facilitate accurate ball-striking. The club's shaft is nearly vertical, like a putter. It moves straight back and straight up, keeping it on path longer, which tends to reinforce in the mind the route along which to bring it back into the ball. At the top of the backswing, Furyk is in the same position as Jack Nicklaus would be—club shaft parallel to the intended line of flight, elbow flying off to who-knows-where. Starting the downswing, Furyk then "corrects" for his unconventional takeaway by dropping his right elbow into the slot where it needs to be, a move that brings the golf club onto the proper swing path to achieve sound results. It's this downswing beginning that produces the idiosyncratic loop in his swing.

As Mike Furyk describes in a Golf Digest issue in 2001, Jim Furyk's hips "underturn" during the backswing and "overturn" coming down. On the downswing, he draws the club in a large arc behind his body (viewing from his right hand side), then pastes his elbow against his right hip at impact. Commentator, Gary McCord, said it looked like Furyk was trying to swing inside a phone booth. Another commentator David Feherty memorably described Furyk's swing as "an octopus falling out of a tree". Others have noted it reminds them of "a one-armed golfer using an axe to kill a snake in a telephone booth." This move was controversial during Jim Furyk's early career; however, his father never forced him to change what came naturally to him. Jim Furyk's well-known ball-striking precision is now serving him well on the professional tour. Furyk, however, isn't the first professional golfer to show us that a swing that defies convention—and countless books and articles on golf—can be successful. Nicklaus' swing was upright, with a flying elbow—and one of the biggest loopers of all time was Lee Trevino.

Golfer Jim Furyk wins the tournament that Tiger Woods did not attend this week, even though it is set up to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation. Mr. Furyk won the tournament with a final round of 67. It was Furyk's first victory in over two years. Jim Furyk, a former U.S. Open Champion, ranks third in scoring average on the PGA tour and has finished second on the PGA tour twice in 2009, according to his profile on PGA Tour.com. The winner of the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, Furyk shot 72-69 in the first two rounds in rainy, wet conditions at Bethpage. Yet he was far from frustrated or flustered. On the contrary, he seemed to be quietly relishing this event because it was morphing into a mental meat grinder. Even the prospect of the tournament being extended past Sunday doesn't faze this veteran of 14 previous U.S. Opens. "Going into Monday and Tuesday is more of a logistical nightmare than anything else for the players," he said. "You have to deal with making arrangements for your house or hotel, cars, things like that." He may be treating it like just another week at the office, but Furyk and the rest of the field here at Bethpage had better be ready for overtime.

Jim Furyk – Golf – ESPN Jim Furyk Disqualified From Barclays For Overlseeping SportsGrid Jim Furyk statistics, tournament results, news and more on ESPN.com Jim Furyk, currently but maybe not for much longer the 3 ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings, was disqualified from The Barclays tournament this morning for overlseeping. Yes, it’s pretty much like The Hot Tub episode of . Jim Furyk Disqualified From Barclays After Sleeping In, Missing. Jim Furyk DQaposd For Oversleeping Throws Cell Phone Under the Bus Everybodyaposs had those Rip Van Winkle days when we fade off to sleep forgetting to recharge our phone batteries and . Jim Furyk 10 days ago: KOHLER WI – AUGUST 14: Jim Furyk looks on from the fairway of the second hole during the third round of the 92nd PGA Championship on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits on August 14 2010 in Kohler Wisconsin. Jim Furyk disqualified from Barclays after oversleeping – Sports. Golfer Jim Furyk was disqualified from the Barclays after oversleeping and missing his tee time at this morning’s pro-am event. Furyk, who is number three on the FedExCup list this year, snoozed past his 7:30 appointment to hit the . Jim Furyk – Bing Wikipedia James Michael Furyk born May 12, 1970 is an American professional golfer, known for consistently playing at the top level and for a visibly unconventional, looping golf swing.

Manny Ramírez

Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-American Major League Baseball Outfielder, who is currently a free agent. A nine-time Silver Slugger, and one of 25 people to have hit over 500 career home runs, he is well recognized for his strong offensive abilities. His 21 career grand slams are tied with Alex Rodriguez for most by any active player, and the second-most all-time, behind Lou Gehrig's 23. His 28 career postseason home runs are also the most by any player in MLB history. Ramirez has been a fixture in the All-Star Game, and is a 12-time All-Star. Ramirez was allegedly among a group of 104 major league players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during 2003 survey testing. In 2009, Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's Performance Enhancing Drug policy for taking human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. Growing up in Washington Heights, New York City, New York, Ramirez attended George Washington High School, New York, leaving at the age of 19 years old without graduating. He was a 3-time All-City selection in baseball and as a high school senior was named New York City Public School Player of the Year in 1991, while batting .615 with 14 home runs in 22 games. He was inducted into the New York City Public School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. The Cleveland Indians selected Ramirez with the 13th pick of the 1991 draft and assigned to the Rookie-level Burlington Indians for his professional debut. He was named the Appalachian League MVP and was selected by Baseball America as short-season Player of the Year while slugging 19 homers and driving in 63 runs in 59 games, while leading the league in slugging and total bases. With the Single-A Kinston Indians in 1992, Ramirez battled injuries but still hit .278 with 13 homers and 63 RBI in 81 games and was named as the No.3 Prospect and the "Most Exciting Player in the Carolina League" by Baseball America. In 1993, Ramirez was named "Minor League Player of the Year" by Baseball America while combining to hit .333 with 31 homers and 115 RBI in 129 games with the Double-A Canton-Akron Indians and Triple-A Charlotte Knights.

In 2007, he had the highest fielding percentage, .990, among left fielders in the American League, tied for second in the Major League; he was ranked 6th highest in range factor of all AL left fielders, 1.72, 16th in both leagues, but had the lowest zone rating of Major League left fielders with 100+ games: .713. He made two errors during the 2007 season in left field, and tied for 5th overall in the Majors in assists from left field. In the postseason, Ramirez hit a walk-off 3-run home run in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In the fourth inning of the series' final game, Ramirez combined with teammate David Ortiz to hit back-to-back home runs off pitcher Jered Weaver. This home run tied him with Bernie Williams for first place all-time in postseason home runs. On October 13, Ramirez hit his 23rd postseason home run, passing Bernie Williams for the most all-time. He helped the Red Sox to reach and win the 2007 World Series, where they swept the Colorado Rockies. In the 2007 postseason, Ramirez batted .348 with 4 home runs and 16 RBI. On May 31, 2008, Ramirez hit his 500th home run, against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chad Bradford at Camden Yards in the 7th inning on the first pitch, becoming the 24th player in MLB history to do so. He joined two other Red Sox players, Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams in this exclusive home run club. On June 5, during a game at Fenway against the Tampa Bay Rays, an altercation between Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis resulted from Ramirez objecting to what he believed was excessive - and chronic - complaining about the strike zone by Youkilis in the dugout, as well as the first baseman's penchant for throwing equipment after at-bats. Before the fifth inning - and after the Red Sox-Rays punching session - Ramirez was caught on NESN cameras slapping Youkilis. Ramirez and Youkilis exchanged words and had to be separated by teammates, coaches, and training staff. Youkilis headed out to the field still barking at Ramirez, while Ramirez was escorted into the tunnel leading to the clubhouse by bench coach Brad Mills and trainer Paul Lessard. According to three sources, Ramirez had provoked Youkilis telling him to "cut that [expletive] out." Later in the season, during the series with the Houston Astros, Ramirez had a physical altercation with Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick. The two were arguing over Ramirez's large game-day request for 16 tickets to the game in Houston, when Ramirez reportedly pushed McCormick to the ground after saying "Just do your job." The two were quickly separated and Ramirez later apologized for his behavior. The matter was dealt with internally and Ramirez was fined.

On July 31, 2008, Manny was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal, in which he was almost traded to the Florida Marlins. The Boston Red Sox acquired outfielder Jason Bay and minor league infielder Josh Wilson, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got infielder Andy LaRoche, and pitching prospect Bryan Morris from the Dodgers, and outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen from the Red Sox. Ramirez has always worn uniform number 24, but the Dodgers have retired that number in honor of Hall-of-Fame manager Walter Alston. Ramirez countered the Dodgers' suggestion of 28 by suggesting 34, but no Dodger has worn that number since Fernando Valenzuela. Ramirez finally accepted number 99, but the next day asked for 28, the Dodgers' original suggestion. However, the Dodgers' marketing department had already begun producing merchandise with number 99, so Ramirez stuck with that number. Ramirez was named the National League Player of the Month for August 2008. He hit .415 (44-for-106) with seven doubles, nine home runs, 25 RBI and 21 runs scored during the month. He finished the season with the Dodgers hitting a .396 batting average, 17 home runs, and 53 RBI. Ramirez finished the season with 37 home runs and 121 runs batted in. Among all major leaguers, he finished 3rd in batting average, 2nd in slugging percentage, and 3rd in OPS. WIth Ramirez in the line-up, the Dodgers won the National League West, then swept the Chicago Cubs in a division series before losing the National League Championship Series to the eventual World Series winner Philadelphia Phillies in five games. During the playoffs, Manny hit .520 with 4 home runs, 2 doubles, 11 walks and 10 RBI. Ramirez was fourth in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, with 138 points, behind Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Ryan Braun. After the Dodgers lost in the playoffs, Manny was asked about his future. "Gas is up, and so am I", was his reply, indicating that he expected to be valued highly in the free agent market. After long and contentious negotiations that dragged into the start of spring training, Ramirez signed a two-year $45 million contract with Los Angeles on March 4.

On May 7, 2009, Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's Performance Enhancing Drug policy. In the announcement provided by Major League Baseball, Ramirez was suspended for an unspecified violation of section 8.G.2 of the joint drug agreement. Shortly after his suspension was announced, Ramirez stated that he had seen a physician who unknowingly prescribed medication that is banned under the MLB drug policy. After consulting with the MLBPA Players' Association, Ramirez waived his right to challenge the suspension. According to an ESPN report, the drug used by Ramirez is human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO. Ramirez during a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque. During his suspension, Ramirez was allowed to workout at the Dodgers' facilities and he trained with Dodger coach Manny Mota. To get back into shape he was allowed a short rehab stint in the minor leagues. Ramirez played two games with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, where his appearance led to record crowds for the Isotopes. He played several games with the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers, homering in his first at-bat with the 66ers. Ramirez returned from his suspension and reclaimed his starting role with the Dodgers on July 3 against the San Diego Padres. On July 21, Ramirez hit his 537th career home run, passing Mickey Mantle for 15th place on the all-time home run list. On July 30, The New York Times reported that Ramirez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing. Ramirez, a member of the Boston Red Sox at the time, was among 104 major league players to test positive.

On April 10, 2010, Ramirez recorded his 2,500th career base hit with an infield single against the Florida Marlins. On April 18 against the San Francisco Giants, Ramirez hit his 548th career home run to tie Mike Schmidt for the 14th place on the all-time home run list. He hit his 549th to pass Schmidt on May 28 against the Colorado Rockies. On June 19, he hit a home run in his second game back at Fenway Park. In 2010, Ramirez had three separate stints on the disabled list. When he returned from the third trip on August 21, he apparently had lost his starting job to Scott Podsednik. As a pinch hitter, he was ejected on August 29 by home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom one pitch into his at-bat for arguing a strike call. That appearance was his final one in a Dodger uniform. Ramirez was claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers awarded Ramirez to the White Sox on August 30, receiving no prospects, but with the White Sox assuming the $3.8 million remaining on Ramirez's salary. He hit .261 with only 1 home run in his 24 games with the White Sox and then became a free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1985, Ramirez joined his parents who relocated from the Dominican Republic to Washington Heights, a predominantly Dominican neighborhood in New York City. He played outfield for George Washington High School from 1989–1991. In 2004, Ramirez missed a Red Sox game to become an American citizen. He entered the next game running onto the field to a standing ovation while carrying a small American flag held in his hand. He planted the flag in the left outfield corner of the field, in the shadow of the Green Monster, where it remained for the entire game. Ramirez has three sons: Manuelito "Manny" Ramirez (b. 1995) from a previous relationship; Manny Ramirez, Jr. (b. 2003), and Lucas Ramirez (b. February 2006) with his current wife Juliana. In the off-season, the family lives in Weston, Florida. Many stories depict Ramirez as a carefree individual whose concentration is dedicated solely to playing baseball. One story took place in his early years with the Cleveland Indians in June 1994. As teammates were gathered in the Indians clubhouse watching news of the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase, Ramirez asked what was going on. A player responded, "they are chasing O.J.", to which Ramirez responded in disbelief, "What did Chad do?" (in reference to their current teammate Chad Ogea). Ramirez has been described as a prima donna and has periodically displayed a lack of enthusiasm and/or concentration, with mental lapses in both the outfield or running the bases. These incidents are typically described as "Manny Moments" or "Manny Being Manny." The first known documented usage of the phrase "Manny Being Manny" is attributed to then-Indians manager Mike Hargrove, quoted in a 1995 Newsday article.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Alisa Kleybanova

Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova (Russian: Алиса Михаиловна Клейбанова, born July 15, 1989) is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 22, achieved on March 22, 2010. Kleybanova has won two WTA singles titles.

Ana Ivanovic vs Alisa Kleybanova

Kleybanova made her senior tennis début in 2003 aged just fourteen, and won the very first ITF tournament she entered.
To date her career-best achievements have been reaching the fourth round at two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and Australian Open as a direct entrant, two WTA Tour Tier II quarter-finals (Antwerp, 2008; Eastbourne, 2008) as a qualifier. Additionally, she has reached one Tier I third round (Miami, 2008) as a qualifier, and one Tier IV quarter-final (Fes, 2008) as a direct entrant. At other WTA Tour events, she has yet to progress beyond the second round of the main draw; but her WTA career is still young, and she has battled successfully through qualifying to enter one Grand Slam and several further WTA main draws aside from her five notable main draw successes described above.
At the higher levels of the ITF circuit, she has reached one $100,000 quarter-final, two $75,000 quarter-finals, one $50,000 final and one $50,000 semi-final. In addition, at the lower levels, she has won seven $25,000 titles and one $10,000 title outright, and has reached two further $25,000 finals and another three $25,000 semifinals.
She has also experienced success in the juniors; she won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships girls' doubles with Sania Mirza, aged 13. Three years later, she won the same competition with fellow rising Russian star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She also won the girls' doubles at the 2005 US Open with Czech Nikola Franková.
Many critics have cited that Kleybanova's style of play is the modern day version of American Lindsay Davenport.

Kleybanova started off the year falling in three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Brisbane International in the first round where Alisa was the 5th seed. She then fell to World No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the Medibank International, falling 5-7 in the third set..
Kleybanova was seeded 27th at the 2010 Australian Open. She lost a hard fought three setter to Justine Henin in the third round, despite having been near match point numerous times.
At the 2010 Fed Cup, Kleybanova represented Russia along with Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kleybanova fell in three sets to Jelena Janković in her first match, but blew past Ana Ivanović in her second match. Kleybanova and Kuznetsova then defeated Ivanović and Janković in doubles to help Russia advance.
At the Open GDF Suez in Paris, Kleybanova fell to World No. 12 Flavia Pennetta. At the 2010 Malaysian Open, Kleybanova won her first WTA singles title, defeating World No. 7 Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
Kleybanova's good form continued into the 2010 BNP Paribas Open where she was seeded 23rd. She, like all seeds, received a bye into the second round where she then defeated qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1. In the third round she overcame another tight three-setter, defeating former World No.1, 2009 US Open Champion and No. 14 seed Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4). In the fourth round she came back from a set down and had to work hard to defeat an in-form Carla Suárez Navarro (who took out the top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. Kleybanova played Jelena Janković in the quarter-final.This time,Jelena celebrated ,winning 6-4, 6-4