a rematch of the 2014 FIBA World Cup final in Spain after the Serbs, as t

TROON, Scotland -- Even with six PGA Tour victories, Bill Haas knew his record in the majors was lacking.He had never contended. He never even had a top 10.Haas finally put together three solid rounds at Royal Troon, including a 2-under 69 on Saturday, and was in third place going into the final round of the British Open.Just his luck, he picked a major where Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson have turned it into a two-man race.Stenson had a one-shot lead over Mickelson, with a five-shot gap until Haas. His consolation going into the final round was that he only had one player between him and the lead, even if that one player already has five majors.Maybe not, Haas said. You see your name on the board close to the leaders and theres only a few guys that could fall backward, and you certainly cant expect Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson to fall backward.That was out of his hands. He thought more about the golf he has played over three rounds -- at least four birdies a day, no big numbers that have derailed the likes of U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and so many others.Haas certainly has the game for majors. His six victories include East Lake (where he won the FedEx Cup in 2011), Congressional and Riviera. For whatever reason, he hasnt been able to put it together during the four weeks of the year when careers are measured.I certainly havent competed as much as Id like in majors, he said. Ive played in my fair share of them, but certainly not 20 years worth. Ive played it enough where I think I could have done better than I have in these tournaments. I typically dont feel like I put more pressure on myself. Its just its the toughest test of golf that we play, and its beaten me more than Ive beat it.His best approach to Sunday is to play the course as he finds it and see where how it shakes out.Thats the way he goes about any tournament. Haas is the son of Jay Haas, who played the Open at Royal Troon three times and passed on what advice he could, such as making birdies with the wind behind him on the outward nine. Haas made four of them Saturday to move up the leaderboard, the mistakes didnt hurt him too badly.He is decisive on the golf course, one of the fastest players on the PGA Tour without ever looking as though he is rushing. His self-talk can be overly harsh, and Haas knows this. He is honest to a fault, such as being asked about playing the final round with Andrew Beef Johnston in the penultimate group.I certain dont think Phil and Henrik Stenson are feeling the pressure tonight sleeping, knowing that Beef and Bill Haas are behind them, he said with a smile. So weve got to use that to our advantage and just try to surprise some people.Theres still plenty at stake even if Haas doesnt catch up to the leaders. He is No. 14 in the Ryder Cup standings, and with the money counting double in a major, that could go a long way toward getting to Hazeltine with the rest of the Americans.For now, the plan is simple.I want to go forward, he said. With them being a few strokes ahead, I dont think about one or two birdies, Ive got to think about shooting a golf score. If I go shoot something in the 60s tomorrow and they fall back, you never know what could happen. Yeezy China . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Cheap Yeezy China . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. https://www.yeezychina.us/ . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Fake Yeezy China . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Clearance Yeezy For Sale . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. RIO DE JANEIRO -- For the fourth successive Olympiad, Team USA has beaten Spain in the knockout portion of the mens basketball tournament, booking a spot in the gold-medal game with a 82-76 victory in Friday afternoons semifinal.Heres our at-the-buzzer analysis from press row at the Carioca Arena 1:How it happened: Triple digits.Wilt Chamberlains stratosphere.One hundred points.That was the offensive target whispered within Team USAs ranks on the eve of this much-anticipated showdown with those familiar, stubborn foils from Spain.The coaching staff was privately convinced that the Americans had to at hit least 100, as they did in the gold-medal games in both Beijing and London, to ensure victory and seal an opportunity to send Mike Krzyzewski off with one more gold in his swan song on the Team USA bench.You can thus imagine how giddy Krzyzewski and his staff were that this group found another way -- several other ways, actually -- to get past the reigning European champions with Spain controlling tempo and keeping the score way down in the usual tense circumstances.DeAndre Jordan started opposite Pau Gasol and had the impact game of his life, proving an undeniable force inside with 16 rebounds, four blocks and numerous changed shots while logging 27 crucial minutes of a 40-minute game because of DeMarcus Cousins foul trouble. Klay Thompson had the hot hand offensively with a team-high 22 points. And Kyle Lowry chipped in with very solid backcourt play off the bench (nine points in 15 minutes) to help the offense when it sputtered.?And Team USA needed it all of it.The tournaments heavy favorites never led by more than 15 points and, truth be told, rode their 20 offensive boards and a 52-41 overall rebounding advantage -- with Jordan as the clear spark -- as much anything to finally put the Spaniards away.?Playing on a strained right calf, Gasol led Spain with 23 points and eight rebounds of his own but simply didnt have enough help to counter the Americans size and athleticism with brother Marc stuck at home as he continues his recovery from foot surgery.?Juan Carlos Navarro, at 36, had a handful of turn-back-the-clock moments at Gasols side, but Team USAs safe passage to Sundays championship game was essentially sealed with 2:16 to go, when one of the newest Philadelphia 76ers -- Sergio Rodriguez -- had a layup nullified for pushing off on Jordan when a 3-point play could have cut Spains deficit to six.Given the stakes as well as the level of the competition, Team USA got off to what surely ranks as its best start of the tournament, seizing a 26-17 lead by the end of the first quarter.The problem:?Kevin Durant?picked up his second foul with 15.3 ticks left in the period, with his third soon to follow on one of the six first-half techs dished?out by this painfully whistle-happy FIBA officiating crew.That the lead was still six points at intermission, at 45-39, was mostly down to Thompsons first-half brilliance (17 points) and the teams 13 offensive boards, creating extra scoring chances against Spains stingy D.Were dealing with talent vs. experience, Team USAs Paul George said coming in. Thats what this tournament is coming down to.Yet thats what made the victory so satisfying for Krzyzewski & Co. Amid all that reliance on its talent, Team USA unearthed some well-timed resourcefulness to go with it to trump Spains copious continuity and chemistry.The streak: Make it 75 wins in a row and counting for Krzyzewski. That includes 23 consecutive victories in Olympic pllay, 19 in FIBA World Cup tournaments, 10 in Olympic qualifiers and another 23 in exhibition games.dddddddddddd The Americans previously tasted defeat in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece, then launched this streak on Sept. 2, 2006, with a 96-81 victory over Argentina in the bronze-medal game in Japan.Play of the game: We have to glue two plays together here, with Kyrie Irving and Jordan heavily involved in both, to properly capture the moment.Irvings lob attempt to Jordan started the bizarre sequence. The pass was too high even for Jordans reach, but the most athletic big man in the tournament managed to bat the pass against the backboard in a fashion that Irving could corral an offensive rebound and score for a 59-50 lead.After a stop, Irving went into one of his inimitable dribbling routines along the left wing, spinning poor Sergio Llull into total confusion before skipping along the baseline and finding Thompson with a pass in the opposite corner.Thompson missed an off-balance 3, but Jordan emphatically slammed the ball home with a one-handed righty follow for a 61-50 lead, Team USAs biggest to that point.(Honorable mention:?Carmelo Anthonys?flying rejection of a Ricky Rubio drive early in the second half was a play out of Jordans locker far more than Melos.)Numbers game: Team USA is now 12-0 against Spain in the Olympics, its most wins against any one nation.Durant needed only seven points to become the second-leading scoring is U.S. Olympic history behind Anthony and was thus a lock to get there, having scored in double digits in all 14 of his previous games in the Olympics.But he was slowed by foul trouble after a fast start and had to settle for 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting, though that meant Durant was still able to give the USA Basketball scoring leaderboard yet another good shuffle:If the Americans win Sundays gold-medal game, theyll stretch the programs current winning streak to a record 76 games including exhibitions, besting the 75 wins in a row Team USA record starting with the Dream Team in 1992 until a loss to Argentina in the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis.Whats next: For the 16th time in its 18 appearances in the mens Olympic basketball tournament, Team USA is in the title game.The Americans will play Serbia in a rematch of the 2014 FIBA World Cup final in Spain after the Serbs, as the underdogs in Vegas, drubbed Australia, reversing a 15-point loss to the Aussies in group play in an 87-61 rout.The Aussies, of course, were the first team here in Rio to expose the United States vulnerabilities in a 98-88 defeat on Aug. 10. And now theyll have to beat Spain in Sunday mornings third-place game to win the first mens basketball medal in the countrys history after reaching the semifinals three times previously (1988, 1996 and 2000) and losing the bronze-medal game each time.The Aussies are trying to win their first Olympic? medal in basketball, having reached the semifinals three times previously (1988, 1996 and 2000) and losing the bronze-medal game each time.I will say this is the best chance we have of medaling, Australian legend Andrew Gaze told ESPN.com, stopping short of calling this the Boomers strongest-ever squad. Gaze made five trips to the Olympics, three of them after NBA pros were granted eligibility to participate starting with the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. ' ' '