miaowang123: of the four meetings with the Lakers la

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Anyone who spends 15 years in charge of the Royal & Ancient surely is entitled to at least one mulligan. Fake Thunder Jerseys . Peter Dawson took his long before he started the job. "I was playing an American one year at Oxford Golf Club, and he introduced me to this travelling mulligan," Dawson said. "As you know, we dont have them over here. I was 2 down with four to play and on the par-3 15th, I shanked one. So I said to him, Ill have my mulligan now. And with my next shot, I had a hole-in-one. I think he was so rattled that he lost the match. I never allowed myself to take another one. I had to keep my record intact." Dawson is keeping another record rather tidy, somewhat by coincidence. He announced last month that he will retire in September 2015 as secretary of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club and chief executive of The R&A, a business division he wisely created 10 years ago. He will have served 16 years, the same tenure as the three R&A secretaries before him. What sets him apart is coping with perhaps the most challenging times in the clubs 260-year history. He is proud of a central role he played in getting golf back into the Olympics for the first time in more than a century, and Dawson will stay on as head of the International Golf Federation through the Rio Games. One of his favourite moments was gathering British Open champions at St. Andrews in 2000 to celebrate the millennium, an exhibition that brought together the likes of Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros on a glorious late afternoon at the home of golf. But the Royal & Ancient game has been moving at warp speed over the last two decades, and Dawson has been in the middle of it. He took over in 1999, about the time Callaway introduced the thin-faced ERC driver with a trampoline effect that was not allowed by USGA, yet approved by the R&A standards. That three-year period of golfs ruling bodies not being on the same page is the one "working mulligan" Dawson would have wanted. Three years later, the R&A and USGA published a "Joint Statement of Principles," and pledged to work more closely together. The most recent example was the decision to publish a new rule in 2016 that will ban the anchored stroke used for long putters -- a putting stroke used to win each of the four majors over the last three years. There remains strife among leading golf organizations over the ban, though Dawson isnt budging. He also has heard plenty of criticism about changes to the Old Course at St. Andrews, seen as sacrilege by purists who believe the R&A is changing golf courses instead of reining in technology. And in September, the R&A Golf Club is to vote on a proposal to allow female members for the first time, which Dawson endorses. The vote is two years after Augusta National invited female members to join for the first time. Was it all enough to make Dawson want to retire? "That was just normal course of business," he said dismissively. "Quite often, the media perception of what is weighing heavily on us is not particularly so." What weighed heaviest on Dawson, and still does, is striking the balance between technology and skill. There is pressure from one corner to slow the golf ball and reduce the size of drivers, and pressure from another corner to make the sport easier at a time when golf participation is in decline. "Keeping the balance right has been the biggest intellectual challenge," Dawson said. He is comfortable that the R&A and USGA got it about right. That will be debated long after Dawson leaves, and it figures to confront the next R&A chief. Dawsons reputation, unlike that of predecessor Sir Michael Bonallack, was built on management more than golf, and it was the right fit for the times. The next R&A chief could be a blend of both. No obvious candidates have emerged in the last month. Asked for the best qualifications, Dawson mentioned someone steeped in the values of golf, with commercial and international experience, and two other attributes -- diplomacy and humility. "One of the things you have to do as a governing body is to treat golf as a sport, as opposed to a business," Dawson said. "Other bodies might put business first because of priorities. The commercial side of what we do is very important to allow us to fulfil the governance role, and you cant lose sight of that. But I view golf first. Business is close. If youre scrambling for finances, its difficult to maintain your principles. So the financial success is important to sport." Oklahoma City Thunder Shirts . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. Thunder Jerseys 2020 . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Zach LaVine grew up a Los Angeles Lakers fan. The first time he saw them play at in person at Staples Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves rookie outperformed everyone — including Kobe Bryant.LaVine scored 18 of his team-high 28 points in the second quarter, and Mo Williams had 25 points and 11 assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 120-119 victory on Friday night. It wasnt sealed until Bryant missed a 3-pointer as time expired.It was really cool coming back here and being able to play here. I was even playing against my childhood idol out there, LaVine said. Im really surprised he missed that shot. That scared me at the end.LaVine, the 13th pick in the draft out of UCLA, played 25 minutes and made 11 of 14 shots. He was the fifth and last player off the bench for the Timberwolves, who snapped a three-game skid.I always wanted to come back and put a show on, he said. I know a lot of UCLA fans were here, and I know a lot of them are mad I came out (for the draft). But Im a confident person and I like proving people wrong.I was just in the flow and running the floor hard. When any player feels like its going in, the hoop looks big. I was just throwing it up and it was going in.Coach Flip Saunders hasnt treated LaVine with kid gloves just because of his rookie status, or his high draft status. The tough love Saunders has shown him has toughened him up.Hes going to coach me hard and be on my butt, but thats because he wants me to be great. Thats all that I want from myself as well, LaVine said. My dad told me always told me: If the coaches stop talking to you, thats when they aint worried about you anymore.Bryant finished with 26 points on 10 for 18 shooting, and Nick Young scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Wesley Johnson had 19 points against his former club, and Jeremy Lin had 18 points and 11 assists in the Lakers fourth straight loss. Seven of their 13 defeats this season have been by seven points or fewer.Frustration and anger is going through my head right now, coach Byron Scott said. We werent ready to play. There was a lack of focus. We looked at them like they were inferior to us.You cant play good hard-nosed basketball one night, then look at the opponent the next night and say, Oh, we have an easy onee. Wholesale Thunder Jerseys. It doesnt work that way in this sport.Thaddeus Young had 22 points for the T-Wolves, who have been hit by a recent rash of injuries including Kevin Martins broken right wrist and Ricky Rubios sprained left ankle. Martin, the teams leading scorer, is sidelined six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery. The club has gone is 1-3 in his absence. Rubio missed his ninth straight game.Saunders used his eighth starting lineup in eight games and his 10th in 14 overall. Andrew Wiggins, the top pick in this years draft and the only player to start in every game, had three points in 30 minutes.The Timberwolves, who trailed by as many as 11 points late in the first quarter, pulled ahead 101-100 on a 3-pointer by reserve forward Robbie Hummel with 8:07 to play. Nick Young then hit a 20-footer, a 3-pointer, two free throws and back-to-back dunks — in a 3:26 span — to put the Lakers ahead 115-107 with 5:03 remaining.Williams consecutive 3-pointers tied it at 115 with 3:02 left. Bryant missed both free throws at the other end, and Thaddeus Young banked in a short hook shot to put Minnesota ahead 119-117.Bryant tied it with a fade away 8-footer over Gorgui Dieng with 5.6 seconds on the clock before Young made one of two free throws after getting fouled by Nick Young with 2.8 seconds to go.Johnson inbounded the ball to Bryant, who had a perfect look from the top of the 3-point arc, but the shot fell short.Despite LaVines 7-minute shooting spree in the second quarter, Los Angeles led 58-54 at halftime with all of their starters except Jordan Hill getting at least nine points.Bryant helped the Lakers build a 30-23 lead through one quarter with 12 points and three steals.___TIP-INSTimberwolves: They won three of the four meetings with the Lakers last season, including a 113-90 decision at Los Angeles in November that ended a string of 22 consecutive losses to them. ... Reserve C Ronny Turiaf, who spent his first three NBA seasons with the Lakers, missed his 11th game because of a sore right hip.Lakers: Bryant, who missed 76 games last season because of injuries, is 171 points away from surpassing Michael Jordan for third place on the NBAs career scoring list.UP NEXTTimberwolves: At Portland on Sunday.Lakers: Host Toronto on Sunday. ' ' '