he wasnt about to let a strong showing at the

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Phil Mickelson hardly sounded like a guy who nearly won his sixth major championship. He was a bit put off by the way it finished. More important, he wasnt about to let a strong showing at the PGA Championship brighten the way he felt about this year. Theres a lot of work ahead. "Ive got some regrouping to do these next three or four months," Mickelson said Sunday night, standing in the darkness of Valhalla after losing to Rory McIlroy by a single shot. "I have some glaring areas in my game that I have to work on." He was part of a riveting four-man duel in the rain-delayed final round, but a costly bogey at the 16th denied Mickelson a chance to break his longest winless stretch since 2003. Lefty closed with a 5-under 66 for a 15-under 269 total, not quite good to deny to deny McIlroy his second straight major title. For Mickelson, it was an encouraging performance after a largely disappointing season. He hasnt won since the 2013 British Open, and he wasnt a factor in the first three majors this year. Now, its time for the 44-year-old to get to work. "I feel like if Im able to continue to be strong and healthy and sharp in these areas of my game, I should have four or five good years," Mickelson said. "These next three or four months will be critical for me making sure that I address the issues and that Im ready to go in 2015." What are his most pressing concerns? Mickelson had a lengthy list. "Short irons were terrible this year as a whole. Its usually a strength, and Ive got to get that back," he said. Then Mickelson mentioned his driving, especially missing the fairway at the 16th and 17th holes. "Those two tee shots hurt. Those are things Ive got to address. Ive got to. I dont mind being wild, but when youve got to get in the fairway, youve got to be able to do it." The finish was downright bizarre. A nearly two-hour suspension set up a race to the finish, and the last two groups -- Mickelson and Fowler, followed by McIlroy and Bernd Wiesberger -- arrived at the 18th tee one after the other, barely able to see the green 538 yards away. After Mickelson and Fowler hit their shots, the PGA of America told the final group to hit as well, essentially turning the final hole of a major championship into a foursome. Mickelsons caddie, Jim Mackay, was heard grumbling to the officials as they asked the next-to-last pairing to step aside so the last one could hit. Then, after Mickelson and Fowler struck their second shots, McIlroy and Wiesberger hit as well. With all four at least near the green, Mickelson and Fowler played out. Lefty nearly chipped in for eagle off the front of the green, which could have forced a playoff. But a birdie left him lacking by a shot when McIlroy blasted out of a bunker, two-putted for par and signed for 268. Mickelson got in a bit of a shot at the PGA of America, mentioning that the organization only runs one tournament a year. But he acknowledged that the strange ending didnt really affect the outcome. "Thats not what we normally do," he said. "But its not a big deal either way. At least that way, we had a chance to finish." For Mickelson, any chance of adding to his three Masters titles, last years British Open and the 2005 PGA Championship essentially ended at the 16th hole, where he drove into the rough, left his second shot short of a bunker and nearly chipped in, the ball catching the right lip of the cup before skidding 10 feet past. He missed the putt to save par, dropping out of the lead he shared with McIlroy. When McIlroy rolled in a birdie at the 17th, the lead grew to two strokes heading to the final hole. "It was a fun day for me to get in the mix and a fun day for me to make some birdies and move up early so that I had a good chance on the back nine," Mickelson said. "Had I been able to finish those last five, six holes strong, I could have totally flipped the way I look at this year." Maybe his ninth runner-up finish in a major will turn out to be blessing. "Regardless of how I played this week, I know that Ive got to address some things," Mickelson said. "These next four to five years, I really want to make them special." Mickelson extended his American record by qualifying for his 10th consecutive Ryder Cup team. The PGA was the final qualifying event for nine Americans to make the team that will face Europe late next month in Scotland. Mickelson jumped from 10th to fifth. Justin Morneau Twins Jersey . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. Blake Parker Twins Jersey .Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Kroekrit found the target twice in the 57th and four minutes from fulltime.Vietnam and Malaysia play their second leg on Thursday. Vietnam won the first leg 2-1. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-paul-molitor-jersey/ . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Rod Carew Twins Jersey .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Jorge Polanco Twins Jersey . Riethers apparent stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a sending-off offence.History and Controversy in Week 2 The Ottawa Redblacks will go through a lot of firsts this year. On Thursday we witnessed the first game played by the new franchise, the first touchdown scored, (Chevon Walker, who will one day be the answer to a trivia question), and almost the first win. The Henry Burris-led expansion franchise got out to a 14-point first quarter lead, but couldnt hold on against a Blue Bomber team that is for real. More on the Bombers shortly, but it was fantastic to see and call a game involving Ottawa again. Football teams in our nations capital never had bad fans, just bad owners, and that is not the case this time around. The business model is sound, the league is strong, and football fans in Ottawa can trust that this team will be around for decades to come, and get emotionally invested. The players on this team are certainly "all in". They played hard, on the road, in a hostile environment, and almost got it done. It wont be long until we see some more firsts. Like the first game at home which is already sold out on July 18, and based on Thursdays game it wont be long until we see their first win. The Real Deal Now to the Bombers, and yes they are for real! On paper there still may be some who are suggesting other teams in the league are more talented, or maybe more experienced. However, this is a "what have you done for me lately?" business so experience only helps you if you are executing. Also, at the pro level every player is talented, and the difference between winning and losing is smaller than third and inches, so the culture you create for those talented players is what gives you the edge. The difference in Winnipeg this year is that head coach Michael OShea is a team first guy to the core. It oozes out of him when he talks and it is the main reason the Bombers are off to a 2-0 start. Yes, Drew Willy has looked excellent and they have found a tailback in Nic Grigsby but lots of teams have good QBs and tailbacks. OShea is teaching that the team is the priority and that all decisions must be made with the team considered before any personal agendas. It sounds simple but there are many examples of coaches that couldnt get the message across to their players. OShea has not been perfect. He kicked around the handling of veteran Korey Banks for longer than he had to, but his teams record is perfect so far, and that is what matters more than anything. Oh, and in the end the Bombers new head coach did eventually make the right decision when it came to Banks when he cut him loose. Banks wasnt happy with his role and that may have affected the culture in the locker room. By cutting Banks and letting him continue his career somewhere else, OShea made a team-first decision. Reaction to Willis hit on Collaros There are lots of differing opinions on the hit from Odell Willis of the Edmonton Eskimos on Zach Collaros of the Ticats. On one side there are those that argue the game is fast, physical and played by tough men who know what they signed up for, which is all true. It is an old school mentality and its not wrong. However, we live in a new world where player safety has become a priority in contact sports. Finding ways to make hockey and football safer for those who participate is not just dominating league meetings, but is also very important to the playerrs associations.dddddddddddd So what about the hit from Willis? First, it looked like the Esks defensive end did try and turn his head and avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. Second, it also looked like he tried to lead with his shoulder, therefore you can assume that there was no intent to target Collaros head. It is also true that if there is a penalty flag thrown every time helmets collide than there would be a penalty called on every play. Having said all of that, if in fact Willis did contact the head of Collaros - whether it was an accident or not - a penalty had to be called. Many times a defensive player gets pushed or trips into the quarterbacks legs accidentally, and that has to be called as well. The league will also review the hit and there could be supplementary discipline handed down in the form of a fine. It is no longer acceptable to say that it is a tough game and things happen at light speed so you have to let the guys play. Improving player safety is priority number one, and has become a legal issue. In fact you could take the discussion even further. The Players Associations in hockey and football are negotiating the player safety agenda into new CBA agreements, and yet dont self-govern when it comes to questionable hits in a game. How many times have we heard the CFLPA announce that they are appealing a fine by the league on a player who has made a questionable hit? It happens virtually every time a player is fined or suspended. Meanwhile the player that took the hit, in this case Zach Collaros, missed the rest of the game and could possibly miss more due to concussion issues. How many times has the Players Association announced a fine within their own organization to a player/member for a questionable hit? That to my knowledge has never happened. The players associations in contact sports have got to start imposing their own fines to players that cross the line, and show the league that improving player safety is not just the responsibility of the leagues head office, but the associations as well. It looks like the hit by Willis was an accident with no intent, but it was to the head of a quarterback, and that is a penalty and should also result in a fine. There is no provision in the rule book that says, "if the player hits a quarterback in the head by accident, or if he didnt mean to do it, then the hit becomes legal." The only way that Willis could avoid a fine here is if the league determines that Collaros didnt actually get hit in the head but it was the whiplash effect that caused his concussion symptoms, and of the TV angles shown so far that doesnt seem feasible. The tougher rules in contact sports these days are designed to change the behaviour of players to protect them from themselves. Those rules are not going away anytime soon, in fact they are getting tougher. We might as well all get used to it and drop the tough guy talk. If the league lets the Willis hit go without supplementary discipline, it will set a precedent for every other time a defensive player hits the head of a quarterback accidentally. There cant be any more grey area. If a defensive player hits the head of a QB, it is a penalty and a fine or suspension - thats the new reality of football. So much so, it is hard to see why there was even a debate on this hit in the first place. ' ' '