Day: June 23, 2017

Dwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Carmelo look stylish at Paris Fashion WeekDwyane Wade, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Carmelo look stylish at Paris Fashion Week

A good amount of NBA stars were spotted at shows at Paris Fashion Week this summer including Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Fashion shows like these are probably where some of these players get their ideas for what looks good to rock before games aka those

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Jordan Spieth maintains lead in Travelers ChampionshipJordan Spieth maintains lead in Travelers Championship

Jordan Spieth shot a 1-under 69 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke lead in the Travelers Championship. A windy afternoon kept anyone from catching him at TPC River Highlands. It also kept fourth-ranked Jason Day from making the cut for a second straight week. He bogeyed the 18th for a 70 to finish at 2 over. No. 3 Rory McIlroy had a 73, also closing with a bogey, but managed to just sneak into the weekend at even par. Spieth began the day one shot ahead after a first-round 63. He started his morning round on the back nine and had to recover from a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole after hitting his tee shot left and out-of-bounds. The two-time major champion was 8 under. Patrick Reed (66) and

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Spieth continues to dominate during Travelers debutSpieth continues to dominate during Travelers debut

CROMWELL, Conn. – Notes and observations from Friday’s second round of the Travelers Championship, where Jordan Spieth shot a 1-under 69 to get to 8 under par and in pole position for his second PGA TOUR victory of the season and 11th overall. Troy Merritt (68) and Patrick Reed (66) were at 7 under, while Wesley Bryan (67) was part of a quartet of players two back. For more coverage from TPC River Highlands, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SPIETH LIMITS DAMAGE Jordan Spieth knew it might be difficult to follow up the best opening round of his young TOUR career, and it was. Not as sharp Friday as he was the day before (63), he still broke 70 at TPC River Highlands and managed to hang onto the lead by himself. For his “badâ€� round, it was pretty good. “I feel like I can control my own destiny on the weekend,â€� said Spieth, whose four birdies covered up a bogey and a double-bogey 7 at the 13th hole. “I’ve been kind of far behind in a lot of the events in making a comeback run, but being able to be toward the front of the pack on a Saturday afternoon is a beautiful position to be in, and one that we’ll certainly embrace.â€� Spieth is a first-timer at the Travelers, but it hasn’t taken him long to figure the place out. The course is short (6,841 yards), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. “It’s tricked out elsewhere,â€� he said after hitting just 12 greens in regulation, three fewer than on day one. “And being very patient on the weekend is key. I always mention that, that’s always the word. I try to tell myself that, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.â€� Spieth took 29 putts, two more than he had in the first round. His double at the 13th was the result of pulling his drive out of bounds left. “One bad swing,â€� he said. “Otherwise it was a pretty solid round.â€� Playing partner Wesley Bryan (67, 6 under) sounded duly impressed. “Jordan’s hitting his driver great right now,â€� Bryan said. “I’m just thinking, man, if I could be playing from where he’s hitting some of these tee shots, it could play a lot easier.â€� SEIFFERT SEEKS SEMINOLE TRIFECTA Chase Seiffert, 25, is older than Daniel Berger and younger than Brooks Koepka, but all three played for Florida State, and all three have made news lately. First came Berger, who picked up his second PGA TOUR victory when he successfully defended his title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic two weeks ago. Then Koepka won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills last week. Now Seiffert—pronounced SEE-fert—is 6 under par and in a three-way tie for fourth, just two shots off the lead after posting a 4-under 66 Friday. “We’ve been talking all week about three straight Seminoles winning,â€� Seiffert said after a round that featured eagles at the par-4 third hole and the par-5 13th. “It’d be pretty cool.â€� Almost as cool would be if Seiffert were to play well on the weekend to give himself some sort of status for the remainder of this season. He Monday-qualified for the Travelers, his 67 at Ellington Ridge Country Club sharing medalist honors and marking the second time he has successfully Monday-qualified into a TOUR event this season (RSM Classic, T74). It’s not an easy life. “If it’s inside 10 hours I’ll drive,â€� Seiffert said of his Monday routine, which requires copious travel with zero job security. “Anything longer than that I’ll fly. I don’t want to ruin my back. I carry my own bag; it’s a lightweight carry bag. Although I did carry my staff bag once to Monday-qualify into a Web event. People looked at me funny.â€� Seiffert’s girlfriend and his mom went all 18 holes with him Friday, despite the stifling heat and humidity, and the fact that his mom, Stephanie Bagshaw, wears a brace on her left knee. “We made the weekend!â€� she said afterward. For Seiffert, it’s just a start; he needs to do more to leave those Monday qualifiers behind. “I came in the week with no status on any tour,â€� he said. “I knew my game was really good, and good enough to even be out here. I just had to get it done. I played well on Monday, and to come out and play the first two rounds like I did, it gives me a lot of confidence.â€� “… It’s definitely pressure just because I know what’s at stake. A good week, and I could maybe get a card or something like that, so there’s definitely pressure in that regard.â€� CALL OF THE DAY LAHIRI AT PEACE BEFORE, AFTER 63 Three weeks ago Anirban Lahiri tied for second at the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, which got him up to 44th in the FedExCup standings and 15th in the race to make his second Presidents Cup team—a goal that’s been on his mind all year. What has he been doing since then? Quieting his mind at the Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne Falls, Massahusetts, about 90 minutes north of TPC River Highlands. “It was just coincidence that that center was there,â€� Lahiri said after his round, which featured five birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. “I’ve done this course three times back home in India starting in 2004. So, I’ve been doing this for 13 years. It’s something that’s very close to me. “You go to the center for ten days, you switch your phones off. There is no TV, you’re not allowed to read. You’re meditating. You’re not allowed to talk. So, there is like complete silence for nine and a half days or so, and you’re meditating 10, 12 hours a day. It’s not just a walk in the park. You’re actually doing work, and working on improving yourself.â€� Lahiri, 29, has long heard he is too hard on himself—from his coach, his wife, his parents, and everyone else who knows him. But it’s not that easy. “I always believe unless I’m critical of myself, I can’t improve,â€� he said. “But it’s a fine line.â€� He has done a lot already to be the best player from India, but he’s not yet where he wants to be. At 66th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he’s still trying to get into the top 50 to punch his ticket to next month’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Nothing seemed to go right in his opening-round 73 at the Travelers, but his 63 got him to 4 under total, just four back. Was it the meditation? He says he doesn’t do it for golf, but it helps, nonetheless. “If you’re in a better place mentally overall, it will translate into everything,â€� Lahiri said.“Whether it’s work or sport or home or relationships, whatever it is. I mean, if you’re a happy person, or if you’re in a place where you’re at peace, it translates into everything.â€� ODDS AND ENDS A year after he made the cut on the number only to shoot a PGA TOUR record 58 in the final round of the Travelers, Jim Furyk is in much better position going into the weekend. He fired a 2-under 68 Friday to get to 5 under overall, three off the lead. “It’s been good,â€� Furyk said. “It’s been like coming back to a place where you’ve won in the past.â€� … When Jason Day, 45th in the FedExCup standings, missed a six-foot par putt on 18, it appeared that he had finished 1 over par and would miss the cut by a shot. As it turned out, he signed for a par 4 instead of the birdie he made at the fourth hole, and had to accept the higher score. His second-round 70 meant he missed the cut by two, not one. … Rory McIlroy’s right foot slipped on his approach shot to the 18th green, where he bogeyed for a second-round 73 to fall back to even par. He made the cut on the number. … Troy Merritt (68, 7 under par, one back) switched to a new Odyssey Putter for THE PLAYERS Championship last month. It didn’t immediately pay dividends. “I didn’t make any putts there,â€� he said after making over 200 feet of putts in the first two rounds at TPC River Highlands. “When I went back home for three weeks, I changed my routine a little bit. Get over the ball, no practice strokes. Just find my line and hit it. A little bit more reaction versus standing over the ball for a long time. It’s finally starting to feel a lot more comfortable now.â€� … Wesley Bryan seemed to be committing himself to the Travelers for the long term after shooting a second-round 67 to get to 6 under, just two behind playing partner Spieth. “I love this place,â€� Bryan said. “It’s going to be one of those stops that’s going to be hard for me not to put on the schedule moving forward. The golf course fits my eye.â€�  SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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Capitals re-sign Oshie for eight years, $46 millionCapitals re-sign Oshie for eight years, $46 million

T.J. Oshie will be staying with the Washington Capitals for a very, very long time. “T.J. is an invaluable member of our team and we felt it was imperative for us to re-sign him in a competitive free agent market,� general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement released by the team. Oshie is coming off of a career year for the Capitals that saw him score 33 goals to go with 28 assists in only 68 games.

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